Tri-City Chargers teammates reunite in Iraq
Without a care in the world, Nick Milbourn and Phil Akins were teammates on the Tri-City Chargers 95-pound football team about 12 years ago.
Friends and family are now waiting to thank these two St. Charles men for caring about the world as corporals in the U.S. Marine Corps.
That chance will come this weekend when the two football buddies will be back in town. Milbourn, a 2003 St. Charles North graduate, and Akins, a 2004 St. Charles East graduate, will be joined by fellow Marine Greg Russell of Gilberts as they return from deployments in Iraq. Milbourn is on leave from his most recent deployment as a Bravo Section squad leader in Afghanistan and will be on active duty another year.
Milbourn and Akins, who was honorably discharged last year, hadn't seen each other much since those Tri-City Football days, but just happened to run into each other in Iraq.
Akins entered boot camp a week after graduating from high school and completed training as an infantry rifleman. He spent two years serving as White House security and marching in Arlington National Cemetery funeral processions before spending seven months in 2007 serving in Iraq near the Syrian border.
Milbourn and Akins conducted missions in Iraq to obstruct terrorist plots, find and destroy enemy weapons, and engage in firefights when necessary. Milbourn also trained Iraqi security forces.
"Being as he was my only child, I had a hard time adjusting to his decision," Nick's mother, Laurie, said of her son's enlistment two years out of high school. "But I could not be more proud of him and how he has conducted himself through all of these situations."
Anyone who would like to send congratulations to these men can do so through Laurie's e-mail at lauriemilbourn@yahoo.com.
It's all about giving: It's a perfect fit.
St. Charles author Rick Moser intends to donate $5 to the Lazarus House shelter from each sale of the first printing of his children's fable, "The Pillow Story."
Moser has penned a story about diversity that teaches children about acceptance, giving and sharing.
Those values come into play when the main characters in the story - three geese - encounter a homeless man in need of help.
Moser will be reading and signing copies of his book at 3 p.m. Saturday at Blue Goose in St. Charles, and also 10:30 a.m. Nov. 21 at Little Traveler in Geneva.
Moser said the book was truly a St. Charles project. His firm, WideSpark, designed it, and illustrator Rex Bohn is also from St. Charles.
Dreams for volunteers: One upside of so many people being out of work is that many network and stay busy by volunteering to help numerous organizations in the Tri-Cities.
Here's one that not as many people may know about. The Field of Dreams horse rescue operation is always in need of volunteers. Anyone interested in helping with the horses in the barns should attend an orientation session at 11 a.m. Saturday at the barn on the property on Brundige Road. For more information or directions, contact volunteer coordinator Addie Stras at lilcreek96@aol.com.