By Michael Hollingshead
RIVERTON, Salt Lake County - 'Why is everybody sad?' asked a little girl in pigtails.
'Is daddy going bye-bye?' a woman asked her 3-year-old boy while she held him tightly in her arms.
Other children played innocently or colored in coloring books as they waited to see their fathers or brothers one last time before they left for war.
Over 100 marines from the 4th Marine Division of the United States Marine Corps hugged and kissed their family and friends Sunday March 16 morning at Camp W.G. Williams before marching onto five Greyhound buses headed for California.
Charlie Company, 4th Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, was mobilized for the Global War on Terrorism and will join a group of nearly 19,000 previously activated marines.
The company left for Camp Pendleton, a Marine Corps base just outside of San Diego, as gray clouds swelled and raindrops began to fall lightly.
Hundreds of family members and friends crowded into the Utah National Guard Readiness Center at Camp Williams as early as 7:45 a.m. waiting to see their marine husbands, fathers, brothers, sons and friends before they boarded the buses.
Women sat on hard cafeteria benches biting their nails and staring into space.
An older man rubbed his temples as he read through a pamphlet entitled, 'Meeting the Challenges of Deployment.'
One woman turned to her son and said, 'You will have to be Mom''s big guy for a bit-daddy will be gone for awhile.'
The boy replied, 'I know,' and continued to play with his crayons.
The crowd, dominated by heart-wrenched women, cried, took pictures and held loved ones tightly as they dealt with the difficult farewell. A mother stood with a baby in her arms and three young children at her feet as her husband walked away.
Cpl. Jeff Bledsoe, son of BYU Fire Marshall, Mike Bledsoe, kissed his girlfriend and hugged his mother before heading to the bus.
'We knew it was coming, and if there was a war, we''d be a part of it,' Bledsoe said. 'We were told two weeks ago to be prepared.'
The company was officially activated Tuesday, March 4.
'We were originally supposed to leave last Wednesday (March 12) but we lucked out and got a few extra days,' Bledsoe said. 'I''m just grateful I was able to have four more days to spend time with loved ones.'
Bledsoe''s mother, Cathy, stayed calm during the farewell, but said she didn''t quite know how to react.
'I''m numb,' she said. 'It''s a lot easier to send a son on a mission then to send him off to war.'
Her husband stood by her side with concern as the buses revved-up, and then drove away.
'This is really hard,' he said. 'But I''m really proud of him. He''s doing his responsibility to his country.'
The company will continue to train and make preparations at Camp Pendleton until they are given specific orders. President George W. Bush will make a 'moment of truth' announcement on the Iraq situation today that will indicate the nature and time of their departure overseas.
'We''re not sure what''s going to happen yet,' Bledsoe said. 'We''ve been told a number of things to prepare for, and we''ll just have to wait.'