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Standing tall

Aug- 1-2004 » Filed Under: Homefront

Yvonne sent us this story about a camp for children of deployed soldiers with the 133rd Engineer Battalion.

[Link to Full Article]
by Bill Nemitz

GILEAD - Adam Madore, a 10-year-old boy on a mission, wore his thoughts on his camouflage sleeve . . . and his camouflage pants . . . and his shiny black combat boots.

"I basically live in a military atmosphere," he explained Thursday as other kids ran every which way in bright colored T-shirts, baggy shorts and scuffed sneakers. Looking down at his pants, already fading from near constant use, he added quietly, "My dad got me these."

Ah, yes . . . his dad.

While Adam and scores of other kids rappelled, kayaked and hiked their way through the Maine Army National Guard's kids' camp last week, Master Sgt. Greg Madore, Adam's dad, was sweating his way through another 120-degree day with the 133rd Engineer Battalion in Mosul, Iraq. And while Adam clearly loved every minute of this seven-day adventure in the mountains of western Maine, his firmly set jaw and all-business blue eyes left no doubt that this is a kid with a lot on his mind.

Like, maybe . . . his dad?

"Yeah," Adam said with a quick nod. "I think about it, like, all the time."

Here, more than anywhere, he was not alone.


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