630th members mark 25th anniversary of coming home
Eight words told the whole story for Charles Puff.
“‘We came, we saw, we hauled ’em all’ was our motto,” said Puff, 51, of Erie. “We had T-shirts made with that.”
Puff was referring to the 1991 deployment to Saudi Arabia of the 630th Transportation Company – an Army Reserve unit headquartered in North Franklin.
Like many in the unit, which deployed with more than 150 soldiers, Puff said he’s looking forward to a reunion planned for Saturday to mark the 25th anniversary of their return from deployment in support of Operation Desert Storm.
Veterans who were on that tour said they look forward to revisiting old memories and close bonds they shared during the 6 1/2-month stretch overseas.
“Things were different in 1991 than they are now,” said Erin Bowers, 47, of Wheeling, W.Va. “We didn’t have cellphones. We didn’t have Facebook. We sat around and talked in our down time.”
Bowers, who worked as a personnel administration specialist during the deployment, is among the vets who’ve been trying to track down old comrades to invite them to the reunion.
“There’s some I haven’t seen since we deployed, so we’re trying to track everybody down,” she said.
David Rugg, 60, of Amity, is looking forward to the reunion, but has more serious reasons for wanting to see his old war buddies.
He’s been diagnosed with stage 2 leukemia and is facing chemotherapy. He said the Department of Veterans Affairs told him the disease may be related to his exposure to smoke from a burn pit.
“It’s a good possibility, but nobody will give me 110 percent, you might say,” he said.
Rugg, who was the unit’s head mechanic, said he wants to make sure other former members of the unit register with the VA so they and their families are eligible for claims, even if they don’t want to find out whether they have cancer.
“I’ve been trying to get a hold of the others who were over there with me,” he said.
Puff, who drove an M915 tractor truck during the deployment, said he’s planning to make the trek from Erie for the shindig.
Twenty-five years after the deployment, Puff said his memory of the span overseas is still vivid.
“We did a lot of different things. Ammo runs, water runs,” he said. “We sent everybody home before we went home.”
The 630th Transportation Company 25-year Desert Storm Reunion will be held at the American Legion in Washington, 168 Park Ave., from 5 to 10 p.m. Saturday. Cost is $20 per person or $35 per couple.