Serving Scott County for
More Than 104 Years!

Local Soldiers Return After Year-Long Deployment to Iraq

From staff reports


Rebecca Lamb welcomes her husband, Sgt. James
Lamb of the 189th Engineer Company, based in Big
Stone Gap, during a special welcome home ceremony
at the National Guard Armory in Gate City. (Below) Lamb
kisses his young son, Bryson.

Sunday (July 20) was a day that Rebecca Lamb of Rye Cove and her young son, Bryson, had longed for. That was the day that her husband, James Lamb, was returning home following a nearly year-long deployment to Iraq with the Virginia Army National Guard.

Approximately 105 soldiers from the West Point-based 237th Engineer Company including 22 members from Southwest Virginia returned to the United States July 16 after serving in Iraq since September 2007. The soldiers landed safely at their demobilization station at Fort McCoy, Wis., and conducted a number of different administrative activities to transition from active duty back into traditional National Guard status prior to returning to Virginia.

On Sunday afternoon, those 22 soldiers, Sgt. James Lamb of the 189th Engineer Company (Big Stone Gap) among them, were greeted by smiles, tears and joyful family members and friends during their official welcome home ceremony held at the National Guard Armory in Gate City.

Although the unit is based in West Point, the 237th Engineer Company has members from various areas across the Commonwealth. The company has some 22 members who are from Southwest Virginia hailing from Big Stone Gap, Cedar Bluff and Gate City.

Bryson, who will be 8 months old on Monday, was unsure of all the excitement but happily remained in his father's arms. It was only the second time that James had seen his young son. Around the time of his birth, the sergeant was slated for some leave time and headed home hoping to be there when the baby was born.

When he arrived at the airport, Lamb called his wife to let her know he was waiting.

But Rebecca couldn't travel at the time because she was in the delivery room.

Lamb said he was happy to be home and ready to get "back to normal." The son of Roger Lamb of Blackwater and Sue Neal of Duffield, in his civilian life Lamb works for Tempur Production in the Duffield Industrial Park.

He plans to enjoy three to four weeks of rest and relaxation before returning to his employment. Lamb has worked at the manufacturing facility for about four years.

The couple remained in contact with one another during his deployment through webcam visits and long emails.

The special homecoming ceremony began at 5 p.m. in the armory with remarks given by Maj. Gen. Claude Williams (retired), First District Del. Terry Kilgore (R-Gate City), Gate City Mayor Mark Jenkins, District 1 Supervisor Paul Fields and the Rev. Strother Smith III.

Heather Spencer of Grundy joined the platform guests during the ceremony as a display of honor. Spencer's fiance, Sgt. David Lambert, was killed while serving in Iraq.

At the end of the ceremony, each of the returning soldiers hugged her as they were dismissed.

According to the National Guard, the 237th Engineer Company is a "Sapper" unit of combat engineers who specialize in demolitions and light infantry tactics. They are used to conduct breaching operations ahead of maneuver elements, leading the way for friendly forces to conduct offensive operations.

While serving in Iraq, the 237th Engineer Company was tasked to conduct route clearance missions. During route clearance operations, patrols search for improvised explosive devices along main and alternate supply routes for maneuver elements within their assigned areas.

"Soldiers from the 237th Engineer Company were instrumental in spearheading the shaping and isolation operations within Sadr City during its peak in violence and their efforts directly lead to the peaceful resolution of hostilities within Sadr City," said 1st Lt. Jonathan York, an operations officer for the company.

The 237th Engineers conducted route clearance operations throughout Eastern Baghdad in support of the 82nd Airborne and 4th Infantry Divisions. During their time in Eastern Baghdad, the unit successfully cleared more than 16,000 miles of routes, finding and clearing more than 60 IEDs and unexploded ordnances (UXO); of which many were the deadly explosively formed penetrators.

The 237th Engineer Company lost four soldiers during the mobilization and deployment: - Staff Sgt. Jonathan M. Forde died of illness on Aug. 13, 2007, during mobilization training at Fort McCoy.

- Sgt. David E. Lambert was killed on Oct. 26, 2007 when an IED (improvised explosive device) struck his vehicle.

- Sgt. Derek R. Banks died of wounds suffered from the same incident on Nov. 18, 2008 at Brooke Army Medical Center in Texas.

- Staff Sgt. Jeremiah McNeal, who was on his second tour in Iraq, was killed on April 6, 2008 when his vehicle was struck by an IED.

A statuette honoring these soldiers has been erected outside of the Armory doors in West Point.

In addition to route clearance operations, soldiers from the 237th conducted other engineer operations to support their Brigade Combat Teams to include over 900 miles of route sanitation, 200 construction support missions including the construction of 25 traffic control points and moving more than 4,000 cubic yards of dirt.

A total of 93 soldiers have earned, or have been nominated with official orders pending, the Combat Action Badge for directly engaging or being engaged by the enemy.

Soldiers from the 237th were awarded nine Bronze Star Medals, six Purple Hearts, one Meritorious Service Medal, one Army Commendation Medal with Valor, 79 Army Commendation Medals, 29 Army Achievement Medals and one Battlefield Promotion.

Additionally, soldiers from the unit have been recommended for two Bronze Star Medals with Valor Devices, 10 Army Commendation Medals with Valor Devices and six Army Commendation Medals. The recommendations are pending receipt of official orders.

The company has also been included in 1st Battalion, 2nd Stryker Calvary Regiment's (SCR) nomination for a Presidential Unit Citation, the highest honor a military unit can receive, for actions in Sadr City and were included in the nomination of the 107th Engineer Battalion for a Meritorious Unit Citation for the "outstanding, steadfast and faithful service as a route clearance element for Multi-National Division - Baghdad."

Business Directory

Vacation Guide