Local Marine Returns Home from Iraq
By Sandee Miloszar

After many sleepless nights, cold sweats watching the news, unexplained crying spells, checking emails and apprehension when the phone rings, my Marine is finally home from Iraq.

It took him three days to get here, once released from Iraq.

My son, Matthew Rabun, is married to Shelbie Castanon of Frazier Park who also attended Frazier Mountain High School. We, Matthew’s younger brother Travis, Shelbie, Shelbie’s parents Kari and Able Castanon and I all arrived to the hangar in Yuma, Arizona about an hour early.

Walking into the hangar was emotional enough. The largest American flag I’ve ever seen was hanging from the tall hangar ceiling all the way to the floor. There were balloons and signs. There were news media and wives with tiny babies (who you knew had not yet met their fathers), grandmas, grandpas, dads and of course, moms like me.

We waited for three very long hours searching the sounds of Yuma’s large airport for the big aircraft, which had departed five hours earlier to bring these soldiers home.

Suddenly, several staff slipped through the barely open doors of the hangar. All eyes watched, focused, to see if this was it.

The alarm went off and the massive doors creaked open with the loud alarm still echoing. As the doors finally opened wide, the hangar was flooded with sunlight.

The excitement was too much for me. I couldn’t stop crying with tears of relief, we were ready to greet our Marine.

The big white aircraft with the American flag on the tail wing was visible and moving slowly down the runway. It taxied just in sight, but out of reach, like a big tease, saying, "Here we are, but you can’t have us yet."

We stood there for what seemed to be an eternity, waiting as they turned in their battle gear. Then the crowd rushed out and the military men finally came toward us.

It was hard to spot him at first. A swarm of marines in camies were walking forward quickly, searching for their loved ones. Then we spotted each other.

We recognized his silhouette in the crowd, carrying a blue bag with a gift for his new wife. His experiences were heavy in his eyes. His smile was tired but bright and his lean body showed his relief as he walked toward us through the crowd, across the tarmac.

This is a moment I will never forget, right up there with the first time he came home, a little over a year ago.

It was a different homecoming….

He returned in the dark then, no fanfair, no crowd, no one but us crying, standing in the dark, on the tarmac waiting for him.

Like something out of a Bogart movie, I saw him walking off the tarmac that night with the runway lights behind him, tracing his image. He was the prototype image of a strong, lean Marine.

Yes, and hell yes! I am a proud Mom. I’m proud of my son’s achievements. The commitment and dedication he set for himself, even as a 9-year-old kid. He set his goals high. He became a Marine. It was what he wanted. He learned what it takes to be a man, a real man of war times. He signed up for the ultimate test and then returned to his loving family.

I cannot begin to explain the love and pride I have for my son, Sergeant Matthew Rabun.

May all of us learn from him. Set your goals high. Have pride in yourself and your achievements. Love yourself and your country. Stand up to take action for the wrong doings our enemies deal us. We have to sacrifice ourselves for the right reasons. Have integrity in your mission. Don’t complain, be humble and get the job done. I have witnessed all of these qualities in him.

I thank Shelbie for supporting him throughout their relationship and for giving him the will to stay focused on the future. Her stamina and devotion to stand by him has been unwavering.

I am just damn honored to be his mother!

This is part of the April 13, 2007 online edition of The Mountain Enterprise.

Have an opinion on this matter? We'd like to hear from you.