Farewell ceremony set for 1161st
Yellow ribbons showing support for the 1161st Transportation Company's approaching deployment to Iraq are attached to a fence at the unit's Ephrata office. Photo by Lynne Lynch/Columbia Basin Herald
EPHRATA — A farewell ceremony for about 120 members of the 1161st Transportation Company deploying to Iraq is set for 9 a.m. Saturday at Ephrata High School.
The unit consists of people from “every walk of life,” including construction workers, postal workers, restaurant employees, schoolteachers, single moms and single dads, said Jerry Gingrich, a chief warrant officer with the 1161st.
He explained people should attend the ceremony because it’s a time for the City of Ephrata to honor the unit.
“There’s a real tight bond between the unit and the city,” Gingrich noted. “Yellow ribbons lined the streets when we were gone for 18 months.”
They previously served in Iraq from 2003 to 2004. Their most recent deployment is expected to last between nine and 10 months.
After the ceremony, the troops will be taken through town in a parade to the Ephrata armory.
People are asked to bring flags to wave while watching the parade.
The parade route includes the corner of Basin Street and Fourth Ave. Northwest down Basin Street to Third Avenue Southwest, east on Third Avenue Southwest to A Street South and then to the armory.
During the parade, people are asked not to stand on the railroad tracks or enter the armory.
To support the soldiers, the American Legion Family of Art Semro Post and Unit 28 in Ephrata bought yards of yellow ribbon to attach to fences, trees and light poles in town.
The legion asks that residents display yellow ribbons at their homes and businesses.
Between one-quarter to one-third of the unit’s members live in the Columbia Basin, while the others are from Idaho and Oregon.
When the unit mobilizes, it will join its sister unit in Spokane and total between 170 to 180 people.
While in Iraq, soldiers will use tractor trailer combinations to haul Army supplies and cargo.