Going away "parade"

Justin is the 5th from the left in the front row- in the light green, not tan.  

The town of Tata threw a "parade" for the soldiers (both Hungarian and American) who are leaving shortly for Afghanistan.  Like usual, none of the Americans really knew what was going on, but I knew I was supposed to be at the Castle at 10:00 to watch.  I initially mocked the idea of a "parade" asking if there were going to be floats and bands and such, but I ended up being surprised.  

It wasn't really for the town, just for the friends and family of the soldiers leaving.  To recap, Justin and the men from Ohio have been working in conjunction with some Hungarian soldiers on a special forces type mission.  I don't know too much about it, but Justin's job as an engineer is to basically understand the ins and outs of large scale weapons, and to clear areas that have been affected by explosions.  It's quite dangerous, but he's had an enormous amount of training and is prepared for the mission.  This is his second time in a combat zone, having served one tour in Iraq.  

At any rate, one of my students read a poem in Hungarian, and the band (yes there was a band) played the national anthems of both nations.

This is the band marching out after the program had finished.  There were many speakers.  High ranking officials from both military forces gave short speeches.  As I was standing watching, next to the families and children of many of the Hungarian troops, I think it finally hit me that this was real.  A man that I have known for only a short time, but have grown to care about very much, is going off to war.  This isn't a news report or a television program - this is my life that is being touched first hand. 

 

These are the top leaders of both sides, the lighter uniforms being Americans.  There are also three religious representatives and off to the side is a translator. 

This is a vehicle that is parked in the "driveway" of the castle.  I was thrilled because I asked Justin if there were going to be tanks and military vehicles, and he doubted it.  Yet, sure enough... here was a big army thing. 

The "parade" was all of 300 meters out and then 300 meters back... around the side of the castle.  There were some other Hungarian representatives from the military so there were more than just the 56 men Justin is training with.  It was nice, but it really made this become a reality for me.  

This whole relationship has been so surreal and not under any normal circumstances, that I sometimes wonder if he's just a figment of my imagination... but with a smile on my face, I remember that he's real - just going off to war.