Copyright © 2003 NLThomas
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News from the Cherokee Nation
Copyright © 2003 CNO
TAHLEQUAH, OKLAHOMA - Five Cherokee Nation employees will soon be observing a whole other country as they prepare for deployment to Iraq this Holiday season.
From left to right, Cherokee Nation Marshal Service Director David Roberts, Cherokee Nation Marshals John Ketcher, Don Childers, Shawnna Eubanks, and past Tribal Council member, John Ketcher at a gathering for the soldiers before they were sent to Fort Sill, Oklahoma. 
Shawnna Eubanks, dispatcher and reserve Marshal; Don Childers, dispatcher and reserve Marshal; John Ketcher, Marshal and Marshal Service chaplain; Brian Bayhylle, emergency medical technician paramedic and reserve Marshal; and Barry Boomer, information systems technician have left for Fort Sill to begin preparation and training to be used while serving an estimated 15 month stay in Iraq.
"It is going to be hard to leave on the holidays," Eubanks said. "I have two kids and a husband that I will leave here and I know I will miss them, but there are no regrets at all. I realize there are people over there who deserve to come home."
Eubanks serves as a fueler along with the other four Cherokee Nation employees with the 120th Regiment of the Oklahoma Army National Guard headquartered in Okmulgee.
"Leaving around the holidays is very bad," said Don Childers. "I will be leaving my fiancé behind, but like Shawnna said, there are no regrets, for a person to come home, someone else has to go in their place."
"Cherokee people are the most patriotic people in the U.S.," said John Ketcher, past Tribal Council member, who was on hand to say a few words to the employees "We just hope they will have a good experience helping people who have been mistreated in Iraq. We appreciate all they are doing in order to keep our country safe."
"I’d like to be home for the holidays," said John Ketcher, Cherokee Nation Marshal. "When I was in Desert Storm I didn’t have children. Now that I do, it is much harder. I’m going to miss out on a lot, but I come from a long line of military family, dating as far back as the Civil War, so I am ready."
| Related contact information: |
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Mike Miller, Cherokee Nation Director of Communications Phone: 918-456-0671 (ext.2210) Fax: 918-458-5580 E-mail: Communications@cherokee.org
Larry Daugherty, Advertising Manager |
Steven Swogger, Agriculture Liaison Natural Resources Department Phone: 918-456-0671 (ext.2546) FAX: 918-458-7673 E-mail: sswogger@cherokee.org
Bradley D. Peak, Cherokee Nation |