Chamber Currents
Welcome Home Sergeant Patrick Sanders
For those of you who may not know me, my name is Kelly Long and I’m the Membership Services Coordinator with the Conway Chamber of Commerce. I’ve let Bridgette take the week off from writing and I’ve commandeered the Chamber’s weekly column.
This past Tuesday, someone very close to me returned home after serving four years in the Marine Corps and two terms in Iraq. This special person is my cousin Sergeant Patrick Sanders. Patrick and I were very close growing up. I was seven years old when he was born and at that age, I was eager to help take care of my baby cousin. He became the brother I never had. We lived very close to each other. I’d ride him on my bike and he would chase me around the yard with bugs and other critters. For half his life he called me “Buddy.” He didn’t even know my “real” name.
Today, this little boy has grown into a fine young man of twenty-four years. I wanted to share with the public how proud I am of him with the choice he made to become a United States Marine. Patrick enlisted in the Marine Corps in 2003 when he was nineteen years old. He said that 911 affected him in a profound way and he felt it was his duty as a young American to help defend our great nation and protect the citizens of the United States. He graduated from Boot Camp that summer and embarked on six weeks of intense training at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina to receive his (MCT) Marine Combat Training. From there he flew to Aberdeen, Maryland, to receive his (MOS) Military Occupation Specialty Training. Later he was stationed in Camp Pendleton, which is located in the southern half of California about 30 miles north of San Diego.
Patrick trained for combat and wanted to hone those skills in Iraq, so when the opportunity arose, he volunteered to be deployed and was sent to Al Asad, Iraq. While there he worked in artillery, servicing the huge Howitzer Cannons. His first term in Iraq lasted seven months, and while he was on his flight back to the US, he turned twenty-one. When asked if he felt he missed out on the “experience” of that special birthday, he said absolutely not. The feeling he had turning twenty-one in flight with his fellow Marines was something he would never forget.
Patrick went on to serve a second term in Iraq. He said he felt he could do a better job of serving his country in the combat zone. He got great fulfillment from it and wanted to get that feeling one more time. What a brave statement to hear coming from my “little” cousin. I couldn’t help but think back to when he was six, building forts in the woods and playing cops and robbers.
To his family’s relief, Patrick is back home in Conway, South Carolina. He’s ready to start a career and is looking forwarding to serving his hometown. Welcome home Sergeant Patrick Sanders! The Conway Area Chamber of Commerce salutes you and supports our troops.
