Minnesota military families honored, soldiers welcomed home in two ceremonies

Jesse Pope's first day back in Blaine last month after a year deployed with the Minnesota National Guard in Kuwait was certainly emotional. But each day since he's been home has also presented its share of charged moments.

Sitting in his old spot on the couch. Opening a beer. Driving up his driveway again.

"Watching 'Game of Thrones,' " adds his wife, Shannon, laughing.

"When you first experience [those things] again, they're very powerful," Jesse Pope said Saturday before a homecoming ceremony in Anoka for nearly 200 Minnesota National Guard soldiers and their families.

Military personnel and their families filled an auditorium to welcome back the 34th Combat Aviation Brigade's Headquarters Company and the 2nd Battalion, 147th Assault Helicopter Battalion from respective yearlong missions in Iraq and Kuwait that changed in scope as the United States' conflict with the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant escalated.

Earlier Saturday, under a blanket of chilly rain, state officials and military leaders gathered at the Capitol to dedicate a monument honoring military families. The first of its kind in the country, the Minnesota Military Family Tribute features a maple tree-lined curving promenade, stones bearing correspondence from service members from each of the state's 87 counties and a "Gold Star Table" as a monument to families who lost loved ones.

"They're not the ones wearing the uniforms," U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar said of military families. "You can't easily identify who they are. That's a big piece of what makes Minnesota special: We work really hard to help them."

Klobuchar shuttled between ceremonies on Saturday. At the earlier dedication in St. Paul, former Gov. Tim Pawlenty clutched a piece of shrapnel he received from a chaplain in Iraq during a 2009 visit. Then, Pawlenty was among a group of governors visiting National Guard troops just days after a fatal mortar attack.

"This killed three Minnesotans," Pawlenty said the chaplain told him. "Never forget what their service meant to our country."

One of the Minnesotans was Specialist Daniel Drevnick, 22, of Woodbury. Originally studying to become a police officer, Daniel surprised his parents, Ken and Julie, when he enlisted.

Drevnick's parents were on the committee to help design the monument. His father said he still has people tell him they'd like to have a Gold Star license plate like the one on the family car.

"No you don't," he tells them.

As the dedication ceremony concluded and the Drevnicks walked toward the Gold Star Table for a group photograph, other families patted their shoulders and shook their hands.

"You find a new family," Ken Drevnick said.

Rebuilding a life

Later, in Anoka, U.S. Sen. Al Franken told the audience that he enjoyed hearing the squeals and cries of the service members' children during his remarks. The Popes, now married for three years, had their daughter, Hailey, just seven months before Jesse deployed.

"Our daughter is very attached to Momma. I'm kind of guest-starring all of a sudden," Pope said.

The Popes' new normal finds Shannon handling the family's finances, a role she inherited when Jesse left. Now back, he's helping her build a new home.

For the U.S. military, there's also a new normal as the U.S. considers increasing its involvement in Iraq to combat ISIL. Because of this, the mission of the two units celebrated Saturday changed almost from the outset a year ago, and no sooner did the battalion return than a group of Pope's counterparts will have to deploy for a similar mission.

"The national consciousness of what's happening is kind of falling by the wayside," Pope said, referring to a different type of engagement for military members around the world.

"It's almost like the formal war title kind of dropped away a little." But, he said, "this isn't going to go away anytime soon. We'll be dealing with this for the foreseeable future."

Stephen Montemayor • 612-760-8405