3ID `Sledgehammer brigade' returns from Iraq
Army News Service
Release Date: 7/24/2003
By Bridgett Siter
FORT BENNING, Ga. (Army News Service, July 24, 2003) - It's calm in Kelley Hill's Kefurt Gym, but the hill itself is hopping again with soldiers from the 3rd Infantry Division.
The gym was the site of what might be called the "mother of all welcome home ceremonies." In a series of reunions over a nine-day period, beginning July 10, the gym was decked in red, white and blue, strewn with confetti and balloons, and plastered in posters that read, "Welcome home, heroes."
Despite the oppressive heat, hordes of friends and family members packed the gym to greet the 3,700 soldiers of the 3rd Infantry Division's 3rd Brigade, returning from the Persian Gulf, where they spent 13 of the last 15 months.
3rd Brigade soldiers fought at Tallil, Samawah, Karbala, Baghdad and dozens of other sites with unfamiliar names. It was 3rd Brigade¹s soldiers who helped secure a key bridge over the Euphrates and cleared the way for a quick and decisive advance on Baghdad.
"For all that they have accomplished, we want to make sure you know we recognize your great sacrifice, because without your support, we couldn't have done what we did," said the brigade's new commander, Col. Steven Salazar, who spoke for the first time to 3rd Brigade families July 17. He thanked the families for their support, a sentiment his soldiers echoed with a resounding "Hooah," before launching into "The Dog-face Soldier," the 3rd Infantry Division's theme song.
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