Unlocking the archive: The return of the 1001st Quartermaster Company in March 2004

This week's archive photo looks back at the return of the 1001st Quartermaster Company in March 2004.

Hundreds of people lined the streets - some waiting for hours -- to welcome back the soldiers who had been deployed to Kuwait in February 2003.

A special welcome home event was held on March 20, 2004, at Ohio University Chillicothe. As the troops entered the Shoemaker Center, the crowd of friends and family erupted into cheers.

Capt. David Hoeffel, commander of the 1001st, said he was amazed by the support from the area.

"I'm pretty much speechless right now," he said. "It is good to be home."

Hoeffel and the troops were greeted by Rep. Bob Ney, R-St. Clairsville, and Mayor Joe Sulzer. Sulzer proclaimed Saturday, "1001st Quartermaster Company Day" in Chillicothe.

Hoeffel said the troopers were north of Baghdad by mid-May and had to service 17,000 soldiers, when they usually handle only 8,000.

"We were one of the biggest morale boosts, the solidres over there had," he said. "These guys did a heck of a job supporting the troops that were over there securing Iraq. You helped bring freedom to a country that had up to this point only known oppression and fear."

He said the company did 500,000 bundles of laundry and provided more than one million showers by working 14-hour days in 100-degree heat.

If you are reading this in the print edition, go online to www.ChillicotheGazette.com for more photos.

If you have suggestions of what you would like to see from our archive, let us know at tshipley@gannett.com

This article originally appeared on Lancaster Eagle-Gazette: The return of the 1001st Quartermaster Company from the Middle East in 2004