NewYork City–In the city that never sleeps, it is apparent that neither does their love for the US military.

We were unfortunate enough to be brought back from our holiday leave prior to New Year’s eve, with the expectation of going wheels up (leaving for our deployment) prior to the calendar change. As it turns out our flight date was changed. Being the highly-motivated, flexible unit of high-speed Army Reserve Soldiers, we only mildly discouraged, but moved on. The bleak prospect of spending New Year’s Eve away from our families seemed depressing. Enter Sgt. Maj. Falardeau! In a day he coordinated a trip to New York City, the Big Apple. We blitzed the city all in uniformed fashion and were lucky enough to see many of the sites that might take a tourist a few days.

We started on a ferry ride from Staten Island parking our vans there to avoid the unimaginable headache, financial burden and logistical nightmare of driving a convoy of 15-passenger vehicles through the city. The ferry disembarked for Battery Park, on the tip of Manhattan. There we were immediately welcomed by an onslaught of admiring fans that seemed more appropriate for a rock band. We hadn’t even left the ferry station before we were swarmed by civilians wanting a picture of us. I could almost imagine seeing a ticker tape parade outside.  They couldn’t seem not to admire a unit of nearly thirty uniformed Soldiers that were simply walking through the city. From that perspective, I guess I could see how much of a spectacle it must have seemed.

We made our way up through the financial district, passing the famed brass bull on Wall St. Somberly we approached the site of the World Trade Center. While my attitude was a little melancholy at the thought of the souls that gave their lives in unbridled heroism and the men and women that lost their lives in that tragic act of terror that day, the citizens of that bustling urban center around us smiled at our presence and emotions ran high. I took a moment to reflect. The last time I was in New York City, I was sporting a different uniform, and the twin towers still proudly stood dwarfing all things surrounding. It was back in 1998 when I came with the Boys Scouts of Troop 186. It was early in my time as a boyscout. Now I stood there speechless in deep thought of the events in my life that led me to the uniform I found myself now in that same location. This was mixed in with the thoughts of the unspeakable act of terror I witnessed at this very site my senior year of high school. THIS WAS the reason that I joined the military.

When one comes to the realization that one is on the right path in his or her life, the feeling is beyond bizarre. That moment really put my life in perspective. Any and all inconviences endured in the service of my country seemed so trivial compared to the events and memories of those that must face ground zero daily. I began to understand the hero’s welcome that we were receiving.

I then began admiring those I stand in service with. My brothers and sisters in arms doing a job that many would refuse and many have. I felt perfectly content with my decision. I felt significant; I felt honorable; I felt proud.

A civilian gladly took a picture of our unit in front of ground zero, from the steps of Brooks Brothers store. The commander, Lt. Col. Perez produced a flag, the stars and stripes, which we proudly clutched unfurled as the pictures were taken. Many on-lookers stopped to take our photo in this gathering as well. We then received the first of many applause that would come that day. The surreal feeling didn’t quite hit me until now as I sit down to write this account, but looking back I am astounded at the support of the people of New York City who couldn’t thank us enough. I personally can’t thank them enough for their sacrifices, but more so, their support.

We moved uptown, passing through city hall park before taking the subway to the Empire State Building. We ascended to to observation point on the 86th floor which. This, as you can imagine, offered a fantastic view of a late-year sunset. This was the last sunset that would beget the last sunrise of the year. Lost in my thoughts, most of the day from that point on was a blur until we ended up a USO located at the New York City Port Authority near Time Square. Being the night before New Year’s Eve the area was buzzing to say the least.

We left to our own devices for dinner and Sgt. McSwain, Sgt. Tull, and myself ended up at Dave and Busters for a meal that was less than adequate, but would suffice. Again roaming the streets we were greeted by on-lookers and curious citizens that were more than aware and excited by our presence. We walked time square briefly to witness the spectacle of lights put on from all of the advertisements and preparations for the New Years festivities that would take place there merely 30 hours from now.

My friends from Alabama were in awe for a bit, but we soon decided to return to the sanctity of the USO to rest our legs, eyes and my mind. We rallied up and proceeded to our next mission… a Broadway Show, wait no, that can’t be right… is it? What? But it was! Sgt. Maj. with his charm and tenacity the previous day, managed to inquire about tickets to Spamalot, which was in its last two weeks of showing at the Shubert Theater.  Wendy, the theater manager was really honored that we would come to the show prior to our deployment and was kind enough to give us standing room tickets at no cost! As we waited outside in the brutally cold wind, our excitement kept us warm Of course the warm welcomes, applause and thank yous that we received from nearly everyone we encountered also helped. It was touching compared to the stares of wonder a uniformed Solider usually gets when traveling.

The spectacle that was Spamalot was hilarious, and the hospitality of the the theater patrons was not atypical of what  we witnessed outside. Two patrons gave up their very expensive 5th row seats to two of our lower enlisted, Spc. Richardson and PFC Clifton, after the first act. We laughed through the rest of the show and singing cadences of “Always look on the bight side of life, one of the numbers from the act. This song really got us fired up, and I believe that it will be the theme of the rest of the deployment.  After the theater cleared out, we were warmly invited on-stage to meet, greet and take pictures with the cast. Clay Aiken, who played Sir Robin, even came out to greet us and give us his well-wishes for a safe deployment. Perhaps the oddest thing was that THEY treated US like star. This impacted me deeply especially after talking with some of the cast who repeatedly thanked us.

“Because of what your do,” one said, ” we can perform this frivolous entertainment for fans. And it is only because of what you do, that makes what we do possible.”

I really appreciated the hospitality of the cast of Spamalot and am so thankful of their appreciation. The time came to lave the theater and proceed back to South Ferry for our return to our barracks. Singing to our new-found tune the whole time.

We retired to the barracks, got some sleep a readied ourselves to watch the ball drop. The barracks would have seemed dismal was it not for the reinvigoration of our motivation due to the awesome trip. This, by far had a positive impact on the moral of our Soldiers. It helped me personally find a reason behind all of this and it put things in perspective.

It is nice to know that New York City is appreciative of the military and we all thank them for giving us a send off. I have to thank the Sgt. Maj. for looking out for his Soldiers and coordinating such a great activity. While it couldn’t compare with sharing a New Year’s kiss with Jen, which I will definitely miss this year, it was probably the best thin that could have happened to us as a unit before we step off.

Thank you New York, and thank you Sgt. Maj. Falardeau!