Once again the Delta’s military veterans were recognized and honored with a special breakfast conducted by the officers and staff of Community Bank.
Although the recognized holiday was Sunday, the bank employees gave up a portion of their Monday holiday to serve the soldiers and hear an informative and inspirational message from former Marine Staff Sergeant Joshua Henderson.
Henderson, a native of Jackson who was raised on a farm in the Goodman/Durant area, said spending his adolescent and teen years carrying out his assigned farming chores made him desirous of seeking a different direction for his life at the time.
Fueled by the deep sense of patriotism instilled in him by his father, a former member of the 82nd Airborne Division, Henderson joined the Marines at the age of 18, as soon as he was able to sign himself up. “To me he just was a walking legend, I loved everything about my dad and I wanted to be more and more like him,” Henderson said.
Henderson said his original intent was to join the military police, but after the 9/11 attack, his mindset changed. “I wanted to go fight,” he said. Henderson said his divert to the infantry gave his parents even more anxiety about his decision to join the nation’s military.
Shortly after completing his training in several locations stateside, Henderson and his fellow Marines were among the first wave of soldiers to end up in the Persian Gulf. “As a 19-year-old, you’re like, wow, this is real now.”
As part of their pre-deployment prep, they were subjected to numerous inoculations including shots for anthrax.
He said they arrived amid protests, had to withstand nearly two months of arduous training in the deserts of Kuwait and ended up sleeping outside exposed to the elements for two weeks because their tents had not arrived. “It was very primitive living conditions, to say the least, we were completely cut off from communications,” Henderson said.
Henderson gave the listeners a striking account of the physical and environmental conditions they were subjected to and an overview of the terrain they had to endure. “I remember seeing a lizard the size of that table slither off through the desert landscape,” Henderson said.
Regarding the destruction and devastation, he spoke of passing a military 10-ton truck that was bombed and still on fire from a missile attack and thinking about how much danger he and his fellow troops would suffer if they got hit by a similar weapon in their lighter-weight vehicle.
Henderson said there were times when they didn’t sleep for weeks. And even more horrifying, he said, “You see a lot of dead bodies, a lot of people shot, a lot of dead civilians, a lot of hurt women and children, that deployment (his first) was different than all of the others I’ve been on.”
He spoke extensively about his multiple assignments, experiences and tours of duty and concluded his monologue with the resolve that he is content with is current life-path. “I’ve found what I truly love to do, and it’s farming,” he said. Although he once shunned it, he now said it provides relief and comfort and keeps his mind so occupied that he doesn’t have time to think about what he’s been through.
Henderson expressed gratitude for the opportunity to speak to the crowd, since it provided an opportunity for civilians to see what it is really like to deploy overseas and hopefully appreciate the sacrifices that veterans make for this country.
