A moment of silence for Company E, 1/120th, Combined Arms Battalion, Hamlet, observed on Memorial Day was especially significant.

“In honor of this sacred day,” 1st Sgt. Brian L. Webb said soldiers “observed a moment of silence to the memory of those who have made the ultimate sacrifice and paid the ultimate price for the freedom and defense of others.”

There has been a communications blackout for the unit since a serious incident took place there recently.

All Webb would said is that “all members of the Hamlet and Wadesboro units are OK.”

It was a reminder that Iraq is still a dangerous place, and men of Company E are in harms way.

Webb said the company has been busy settling into barracks at Forward Operating Base Falcon and performing duties.

On a flagpole high above the barracks, he said they raised the Hamlet city flag.

So far, the flag has been flown at Camp Shelby, Miss.; the National Training Center in California; Camp Buehring, Kuwait — their staging area — and now in the base in South Baghdad.

“Please thank our supporters for their thoughts and prayers,” Webb said. “The soldiers still talk of the deployment ceremony, and the tremendous pride they have in serving a community that supports them so well.”

Requests have been made for a mailing address.

Unit mail for everyone in general will be placed in the commons area of the barracks.

Send to:

1SG Brian L. Webb, 30th BSTB, Co E 1/120th CAB, FOB Falcon, APO AE 09361.

The permanent barracks in which the men are staying are much different from the converted cargo containers in which they lived on their first deployment in 2004 at another forward operating base.

The 1/120th is a unit of the 30th Heavy Brigade Combat Team, N.C. Army National Guard, with about 4,000 troops now in Iraq.

The deployment ceremony at Cole Auditorium, Hamlet, was held in November . They will be on active federal duty for a total of 16 months.

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Contact reporter Tom MacCallum at 910-997-3111, ext. 15; e-mail maccallum@yourdailyjournal.com.