National Guard Sgt. Rusty Midkiff, who returned home March 9 from a tour of duty in Afghanistan, said his planned highlight of the day was to get back to his horse farm, Legend’s Run, near Woodstock, and enjoy some quiet time with his animals.
But when he and his parents, Leo and Betty Midkiff, pulled into the driveway, Midkiff, 44, said he tried to get his father to stop.
“I said, ‘Dad, look at this fencing ... stop,’ but he said to hold on, that there was more.”
As the Midkiffs climbed from their car, Rusty saw a repainted farm office, barn and outbuildings, along with a newly-fenced dressage ring and jumping ring. His animals, including Legend, the horse the farm is named for, and the dogs in his kennel were waiting for him, but it wasn’t quiet. His friends, relatives and Woodstock Post 316 of The American Legion were there to greet him.
“In the horse world, fencing is everything,” Rusty Midkiff said. “I’m overwhelmed. I’m shocked. This is something to come home to.”
Midkiff was deployed with the Bravo Troop First Squadron 108th Cavalry Regiment of Georgia’s 48th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, which returned to the Canton Armory earlier in the day, complete with a police escort and a parade through town as hundreds of citizens, high-school students and families turned out to greet the troops with flags waving.
Midkiff flew home from Afghanistan for a short time last November, on leave, to face the reality of what had happened to his home during the Sept. 21 torrential rain, during which caretakers abandoned the farm. Water was up to the barn’s second level, and friends from neighboring farms had to rescue his animals and lead them to higher ground. He had planned to deal with the devastation when he got back from the war.
But long-time friend Noelle King, of Dunwoody, had other ideas, and decided to orchestrate a tangible thank-you to Midkiff for his service overseas. King garnered the support of Home Depot, 11 Alive’s Bill Liss, The American Legion, Twist Restaurant in Buckhead, and friends and family to repair Midkiff’s fencing and repaint his farm buildings.
“Home Depot (in Woodstock) supplied everything,” King said. “All the boards, all the paint, all the rollers, brushes and screws.”
On the way to deliver the materials, only four or five days before Midkiff arrived home, the load in one of Home Depot’s trucks shifted and the lumber almost fell out. That’s when Glenn Freeman, a builder with 3rd Generation Contracting, in Canton, stopped to help.
The Home Depot drivers told Freeman about the project, and, even though he didn’t know Midkiff, Freeman followed the lumber to the farm, and stayed there working, for free, for five days building fences. Friends and family also worked day and night to spiff up the farm, with meals catered by Twist.
“I grew up on a farm,” Freeman, the Canton contractor, who happened onto the scene, said. “That’s about $15,000 worth of fencing Home Depot donated. I figured I’d stay there and help put it up. It’s the gracious thing to do, to show your love and respect.”
King said, to top off the surprise, she felt a hero’s welcome was in order, so she called the American Legion. After Midkiff’s sister, Tiffany Bennington, greeted her brother with a hug as he stepped from the car, members of the American Legion waved flags, cheered for him, shook his hand and thanked him.
“I was summoned to the state Capitol by the governor today, but I told him I had a previous engagement,” said Charlie Tucker, leader of the post and senior vice commander of the American Legion in Georgia. Tucker soon will head the Georgia American Legion.
“I do this because I want to say welcome home to the soldiers,” Tucker said. “No one told me that when I got back from Vietnam, and I never want to let that happen again.”
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Cherokee County came out in full force March 9 to welcome home troops based out of the Canton Armory on Marietta Highway. More than 80 soldiers with the Bravo Troop First Squadron 108th Cavalry Regiment of Georgia’s 48th Infantry Brigade Combat Team returned home after a one-year deployment to Afghanistan.
Some people stood on overpasses on Interstate 575 with American flags draped across the overpass ledge to welcome home the soldiers traveling by bus or with family members up the interstate--they were coming from Fort Stewart.
Others lined the streets of Canton to pay tribute to the soldiers as they traveled the yellow balloon-lined streets of downtown Canton heading to the armory.
Hundreds of people stationed themselves at the Canton Armory, cheering as the parade, complete with Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office motorcycles, a motorcade of the Patriot Guard Riders, the sheriff’s office’s Bearcat, Woodstock and Canton police, as well as Engine 16 from the Canton Fire Department, traveled the streets.
As the troops crested the hill on Marietta Highway, the throng of high school students, citizens and family members waved flags and cheered loudly.
The buses pulled into the armory, and, as soldiers, disembarked, they were surrounded by eager family members, who hugged them joyfully.
After saying hello to their families, the soldiers moved inside the armory to muster once again as a unit so that awards could be given out.
Canton Mayor Gene Hobgood spoke to the troops and their families, and the local Family Readiness Group bestowed Freedom Awards to soldiers and family members.
A public celebration is expected in May.
