Iraq deployment reunited Tri-City football teammates

It had been 14 years since Nick Milbourn and Phil Akins wore Tri-City Chargers football jerseys. And they never had a crowd of more than 3,000 people cheering when they put them on.

Milbourn and Akins, both St. Charles residents, played on the same 95-pound Chargers team in 1996 and, in a coincidental twist, met again three years ago as members of the same U.S. Marines Corps unit deployed in Iraq.

They donned their commemorative jerseys, adorned in the Stars and Stripes, during a ceremony in their honor Saturday morning at West Side Community Park as part of the youth football organization's season-opening Pigskin Classic and Support Our Troops weekend.

Before the ceremony, Akins, a 2004 St. Charles East High School graduate, recalled how he connected with his former teammate, Milbourn, a 2003 St. Charles North graduate.

"I played Tri-City football with hundreds of guys, and you don't really run into them much if they went to different high schools, like Nick and I did," said Akins, who was honorably discharged from the Marines two years ago. "We had actually been working together for a week or two, and Nick was talking to a Marine in my unit who was from Aurora and he told him, 'You should go talk to Akins, he's from St. Charles, too.'"

The meeting occurred during the Al Anbar Province campaign in September 2007, and Milbourn figured out that Cpl. Akins was a former Tri-City Chargers teammate.

"I didn't recognize him at first," said Milbourn, who is stationed in California after two deployments in Iraq and will be honorably discharged in October. "You do kind of a double-take because he looked vaguely familiar, and then when I met him, it was like, 'I definitely know you.'"

More than 700 players, cheerleaders and their families in attendance for the opening weekend for the program's 45 teams were treated to a military flyover of two World War II planes and the national anthem from the Marmion Military Academy color guard and rifle team.

Tri-City Chargers president Mike Haston and vice president Joe Ninni introduced the Marines' family members and welcomed St. Charles Mayor Don DeWitte as guest speaker.

"These are two gentlemen who have been in the trenches in two very different worlds," DeWitte said. "I'm quite sure Nick and Phil probably saw things that they never thought they would have the experience to be involved in when they enlisted in the Marines, fighting for freedom and democracy in the Middle East."

DeWitte told the young players in the crowd that the lessons the Marines learned about courage and determination are the same as those being taught by the coaches today - and those lessons helped Milbourn and Akins return home safely to "bask in the glow of an appreciative community."

After the ceremony, players lined up to shake hands with the Marines. Tyler Surges of the 110-pound Tri-City Chargers team said the appearance of the Marines got him fired up for his game. But his favorite part was the World War II flyover.

"That was really awesome because they did aerial tricks, too," Tyler said.

The two honored Marines were overwhelmed by the support. "This is definitely a cool thing, and I was pretty psyched when I heard about it," said Akins, who has a degree in criminal justice and is seeking a job on a police force.

"When you play football and try your best, but don't win, it's OK; but in our line of work in the Marines, losing is not acceptable at all. You have to win," Akins added.

Akins said he played football from 1993 until high school graduation. "It's just a huge part of my life, and it made the transition to life in the military a little easier, but it was still very difficult."

Milbourn was impressed with the turnout and said the football fields at Peck and Campton Hills roads brought back memories.

"I felt like I was coming to football practice," Milbourn said. "I played in a high school rugby game here once, but other than that, I have not been here since, so it is very nostalgic."

Milbourn was thankful he will return home this fall to his wife, Susan, and his family and friends. "It's nice to be home with all of my appendages," said Milbourn. "Many others were not that lucky."