The Hancock-Henderson Quill, Inc.
by Jennifer Dance, The Quill Staff
Driving through Media, on highway 116, a sign posted on the north side of the highway honors five young men serving our country from the Media township; Ryan Bigger, son of Randy and Paula Bigger, Chris Burgdorf and Kale Burgdorf, sons of Kevin and Connie Burgdorf, John Buss, son of Dale and Donna Buss, and Ryan Smith, son of Jeff and Lari Jo Smith.
The sign was put in place in April sponsored by the Village of Media with Nick and JoEllen Roark in charge of painting and construction.
"The town wanted to support the boys from the township," stated Connie Burgdorf, mother of Chris and Kale Burgdorf.
Both boys are currently serving our country in Baghdad.
When a military fatality or serious injury takes place in Iraq, service men and women lose their phone privileges for 24 hours so the proper authorities can contact the parents and/or spouses about their loved ones. Burgdorfs received a call a few weeks ago stating that their boys have not received a fatal injury and are uninjured at the present time.
Ryan Smith is on a Foreign Operations Base in Spartan, Iraq. The base is a Military Police base consisting of 5 companies. Ryan left January 3, 2005 and is on a 12 to 18 month tour of duty.
Chris and Kale Burgdorf and Ryan Smith were in the same unit, but the unit separated into 3 groups. However, Chris and Kale see one another about once a week.
Ryan Bigger was in Camp Victory in Falujiah, but has been at Fort Bragg, North Carolina since last July. He is in the 82nd Airborne and is on an RFG alert. The alert ranges from 1 to 9. If called on an RFG 1 alert, there is 2 hours before being on a plane headed overseas, when on an RFG 9 alert, there is 12 hours. Ryan is on an RFG 1 alert at the present time. His bags remain packed and ready to go.
John Buss attends the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. He has 2 more years until his completion at the academy and 5 years of active duty after graduation.
It takes about 2 weeks for mail to arrive in Iraq. Parents are encouraging people from their town and surrounding areas to write, to let them know what is going on in Henderson County. Aside from close family, they receive little to no mail and a letter goes a long way when you are thousands of miles from home. Both Connie Burgdorf and Lari Jo Smith stated the importance of receiving mail.
"A lot of them are getting homesick, so write!", encourages Lari Jo.
Connie Burgdorf said it is for their protection that soldiers addresses are not published, but to please call her at (309) 924-1807 and she can tell you how to contact them.