Sources |
- [S23] Atchley Funeral Home, (http://www.atchleyfuneralhome.com/), 24 Jul 2008.
Elmer Thomas "E. T." Dunn obituary
- [S27] The Daily Times, http://www.thedailytimes.com/, (Blount County, Tennessee), 8 Aug 2009.
Home again: Rockford captain returns from Iraq
By Robert Norris of The Daily Times Staff
Originally published: August 08. 2009 3:01AM
Ten months after she left for Iraq, Melissa Dunn is coming home to her Rockford family.
The Army reservist — a graduate of Heritage High and the University of Tennessee — left Fort Dix, N.J., early Friday morning after a tour of duty in Iraq.
She served almost 10 months in east Baghdad with Bravo 401st Civil Affairs Battalion out of Webster, N.Y., attached to active duty units, the 10th Mountain and 82nd Airborne.
Friday afternoon, her family and friends are anxious as they wait by the man-made creek at the McGhee Tyson Airport terminal.
Her mom, Maxine, is here. So is her aunt Clara, brother and sister-in-law Greg and Beverly Dunn, and neighbors, Nick and Jennifer Holota.
What are your feelings, Maxine?
“I can’t describe ’em,” Melissa’s mother says.
She does describe what awaits her daughter when she returns to the Blount County home where she was raised. There’s a “Welcome Home Melissa” banner and more.
“We’ve got balloons everywhere. We’ve got balloons on the mailbox and balloons in the garage and balloons on the porch and balloons in the bedroom, balloons on the dining room table,” Maxine says. And a family celebration set for Sunday.
Hurry up and wait. Melissa Dunn’s flight is delayed.
Finally, departing passengers start filing through the security gate from the concourse. But no Melissa, not yet.
One of the passengers tips off the family — yes, Capt. Dunn is on the plane that just landed. She will probably be the last one to clear the secured area.
All eyes are on the exit. Voices crescendo.
“OK, come on!”
“There’s one more person coming through that door!”
“I can see her!”
“There she is!”
“Yea!!!”
Hugs all around. Melissa is home.
There are a couple of captains in the Dunn family now. Melissa Dunn left Tennessee as a first lieutenant. She returns wearing double bars to signify her rank — Capt. Melissa Dunn — just like her older brother, Alcoa Police Capt. Phillip Dunn.
She’s willing to share some observations about conditions in Iraq as the U.S. military winds down combat operations.
“Actually, things are going very well right now. When we left, we were the last Civil Affairs team in there, so we handed over everything. The two governments that I worked with mainly, were really prepared to take over their duties,” Dunn says.
It won’t be easy for the Iraqis. Under Saddam Hussein, the people were taken care of — for better for a few, but for worse for most. Now they are having to learn how to take responsibility for themselves.
“They didn’t have to pay for anything. It’s going to be an adjustment for them,” Dunn says.
“Most of the areas that I worked with are very poor areas, and we’re just trying to rebuild them to be able to function on their own. Because, right now, they don’t have any water, no electricity. That’s what we went in and did, help rebuild those infrastructures.”
For the most part, the American troops are appreciated.
“The majority of the people that we dealt with responded very positively. They know the Civil Affairs patch and they know what we are there to do — that we are there to help them rebuild.”
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