Jason Parson is putting his education on hold — for the third time — to meet obligations he signed on for in the U.S. Army Reserves.
Parson and other members of the 129th Transportation Company will leave this month to take training at Ft. Riley and at Camp Atterbury in Indiana before leaving for a tour of duty in Iraq.
The 129th formerly had a presence in Osage City until it was consolidated into one unit at New Century, near Gardner.
Parson, who is from Lyons, has been in the Reserves for almost eight years. He came here to attend Emporia State University, where he is 1 year from graduating with a bachelor’s degree in marketing and a minor in psychology.
“This is his third school to be called out from,” said Alysa Parson, Jason’s wife of almost 2 years.
Education has been interrupted at Fort Hays State University and Cowley County Community College, as well.
Alysa Parson termed one of those interruptions as a “fake deployment.” He was sent to augment a unit in Jefferson City, Mo., when it was believed the unit was going to Iraq.
“It turned out they never did get deployed, so they let us go home,” he said.
Parson has served one tour in Iraq, from January 2004 to January 2005, and was notified in January this year that the 129th had been called to service again.
He wasn’t surprised, nor did he regret re-enlisting last summer.
“He would have had to have gone either way,” Alysa Parson explained. “He signed an 8-year contract.”
On Friday afternoon, owners and co-workers at Guion’s Furniture Showcase held a farewell party for Parson, who has worked in the warehouse and delivery department at Guion’s for nearly three years.
Owner John Guion and co-workers teased Parson throughout the potluck buffet they’d brought in; it helped lighten the mood around an unspoken, but weighty and worrisome, topic.
“We’ll have less furniture to repair,” Guion told Parson.
Co-worker Melissa Truman defined Parson’s job.
“He held a screwdriver all day,” she said before Parson joined in with some self-deprecation.
“I just pretended to do something,” he said.
Talk moved on to side mirrors knocked off a delivery truck and other minor mishaps.
“He always fixed what he broke,” Guion said, appearing to come to Parson’s defense.
Co-owner Jane Guion looked at Parson’s upcoming absence more somberly.
“He’s like one of the family,” she said.
“He’s very reliable, dependable,” John Guion said, taking a break from teasing. “He’s always willing to do the extra work, go the extra mile.”
And, despite all the joking at Parson’s expense, will he return to Guion’s when his Iraqi tour of duty is over?
“Oh, definitely,” John Guion said. “He has a job when he gets back.”
MelissaE (anonymous) says...
Fair winds and following seas. (That's a Navy thing). He's a hero before he even leaves again. :)
Melissa
April 5, 2008 at 11:25 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )