Small Town News

Major says families are the heroes

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Gene Porter, a longtime Greenville resident, received a special visit recently from his nephew who had just returned from duty in Iraq, U.S. Army Major Tim Amerson.

Amerson is the son of Porter's sister-in-law, Sharon Mancebo, who moved to Greenville five years ago to help Porter with the final arrangements after her sister's death.

A career Army National Guard man with 23 years in service, Amerson trains and works with the soldiers of the 36th Infantry Division.

The division's history began in World War I, and many veterans and soldiers are proud to wear the T-patch, Amerson said. The division was formed from the Texas and Oklahoma national guards back in 1917, during World War I, and later became solely a Texas unit.

Division 36 soldiers were deployed only a month before earning themselves recognition as a first-rate combat unit.

This was Amerson's second deployment to Iraq with his division.

While there, Amerson worked with the local residents to establish local government and community services to help in the transition from U.S. to Iraqi funding and resourcing.

"If we have problems in an area because the locals are hostile, it's probably because of the poor conditions," he said.

So Amerson and his troops go in and use U.S. money to help put in a water tower, a school and a market--to put some sort of normalcy back into the community.

In his free time, Amerson also helped initiate-a~Seout-like program among the Iraqi residents and their children to teach them about caring for themselves, their country and their land.

His goal while there for a year was to get the community leaders involved in the guide program so it would last after he was gone. "If you want the program to last, they are the ones who have to want it and do it," Amerson said.

The name of their guide group is Victory Base Council, and Amerson is pleased that it is still active and going strong without him there anymore.

A glimmer in his eye while he scanned a text message seemed to make one think he wished to be there on a camping trip they were ready to set off on the day he was in his uncle Gene's Greenville living room.

Amerson especially misses Zachary, a young Iraqi boy who always seemed to know when he was approaching their village and would be outride to reeHrint--

The bronze star Amerson earned for his work in civil military operations is an honor, as was the medal he received for outstanding volunteer service in his efforts to strengthen the guides program. Yet the decorations are not nearly as vivid in that momentary glimmer as the smile he remembered on the boy's face.

While in the guard, Amerson also served on a peacekeeping mission to Egypt, where he was a cavalry troop commander. Now he has a Stetson, spurs and ropers, though he doesn't ride a horse.

The cavalry is used mostly for scouting out the front lines, ahead of the main forces, and members ride on tires and tracks.

Instead of horses' backs, Amerson and other cavalry members either walk or ride in HumVees, or high-mobility, multipurpose, wheeled vehicles.

Sometimes they are inserted via an airlift operation.

In Egypt, he saw Mount Sinai, where Moses delivered the Ten Commandments, and where people are divided by their religion.

"They both fight over who is what and what is who," Amerson said of the two major religious factions.

He's also seen the Holy Land, which did not seem hostile at the time in 2006, though the Gaza Strip was bad then and worse now.

"It was awesome to walk in the steps that Jesus walked," he said of his visit to the Holy Land. "And I was re-baptized in the Jordan, where He was."

Amerson looks forward to several more years in the National Guard.

"I don't have to retire until 2026," he said. "And I want to rise to a full-bird colonel."

So while he works his way up the ranks, Amerson lives in Austin, Texas, where he's a federal technician and works for the military as an active, certified information technology specialist.

Amerson is father to four-- Breana, Tim II, Alissa and Aspen. He was honored to visit each of their schools and present flags he flew over Saddam Hussein's old palace during Operation Iraqi Freedom.

He also flew one for his mother, which he presented during his visit in Greenville.

"The true heroes are the families back home," he said.



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© 2010 The Chester Progressive Chester, California. All Rights Reserved. This content, including derivations, may not be stored or distributed in any manner, disseminated, published, broadcast, rewritten or reproduced without express, written consent from DAS.

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