By Army Sgt. Stacey Mosher
147th Financial Management Detachment
NEW YORK - Upon completion of their pre-mobilization training at Fort Dix, N.J., soldiers of the Minnesota National Guard’s 147th Financial Management Detachment, had the opportunity to travel to New York to visit the 9/11 memorial on Oct. 3, 2012.
The soldiers of the 147th FMD were beyond excited and fortunate enough to visit the 9/11 Memorial before departing for their deployment to Afghanistan. This provided a good reminder to everyone within the unit of why many chose to serve their country.
“The memorial was absolutely beautiful, yet somber all at the same time,” said Spc. Jessica Wensole of Anoka. “I wish we were given more time to really take everything in and still have plenty of time to see all of New York before deploying. It really took our minds off of everything that was going to be happening within the next few days.”
After spending time at the memorial, the soldiers split into groups and traveled the streets of New York. New York has so much to offer and the soldiers of the 147th FMD got to catch a glimpse of some of the sites many of them have only dreamed of seeing.
“The people of New York were incredibly nice and sincere; they were very appreciative of our service and happy to grant us access to almost everything without hesitation,” said Spc. Aaron Keehn of Inver Grove Heights. “We were really being treated like celebrities, people wanted to take pictures with us almost every 10 steps and we were even let into the Central Park Zoo for free, it was such a fun and memorable day!”
One Soldier’s family, New York locals, were kind enough to open their home up to a group of Soldiers and making them an amazing dinner. “It was a great opportunity to share my family with the unit since they have never had the opportunity, since they live so far away,” said Spc. Daphnee Pierre of Roseville. “They were very happy they had the chance meet the family that I now belong to in Minnesota.” Many other Soldiers commented on the kind gesture and didn’t lose out on one last chance at a wonderful home cooked meal before deploying.
The 147th soldiers truly enjoyed their time in New York and appreciated the fact that all of the stress of deployment had subsided momentarily.
Next, it was time to focus on the mission once again and prepare for their nine-month mobilization. The New York trip allowed the soldiers to experience something meaningful together and continue to grow not only as a unit but also grow closer as a small family as well. Many of the soldiers can’t wait for an opportunity to return to New York.
The 147th Finance Management Detachment is currently serving in Afghanistan.