After six long months away from friends and family, Marine reservist 1st Sgt. Lewis DuSett finally was able to return home to Adams Basin. As he drove down Canal Road with his wife, Della, and son, Luke, home must have looked too good to be true. Actually what he saw made DuSett do a double take. The road was adorned with red, white and blue. Both sides were lined with signs and excited on-lookers who had come out to welcome him home. DuSett parked, stepped out into the middle of the road and with a tear in his eye tried to take everything in. "I was wondering if there was an election going on, or something," he said. There might as well have been because on Saturday, June 7, for all intents and purposes, Sgt. DuSett was named mayor of Adams Basin. Donna Penders was one of many local residents who joined the welcome home parade. Penders has known DuSett for nearly 15 years and said she was overjoyed to see him come home. "I think this is fantastic," said Penders. "I think the men did a great job over there and I'm glad we can welcome them home. It is also great for the young ones to come out and witness the patriotism." One by one they came up to DuSett to share their "welcome back" and "thank you" sentiments. Donna's daughter-in-law, Rhonda, was instrumental in putting the surprise party together. With help from her friend Maggie Ciesinski, Rhonda was able to spread the word and help coordinate DuSett's arrival party. For the families of Adams Basin, having DuSett return is like welcoming back a close family member. When he left in January, Adams Basin rallied behind his family. "The day he left I told him, 'We'll take care of Della until you get home,' " said Rhonda, and so they did, making sure that she would spend no holiday alone. Many times residents from the Basin sent DuSett care packages and cards. DuSett said the admiration is mutual. "I'd go to bat for my friends around here any day," he said. In the meantime, however, he is glad to be home. "I missed my family the most," DuSett said. "It was really tough to leave them." As a Marine reservist for 25 years, this was the first time the 42-year-old had been called into active duty. Just months before being deployed, DuSett had left his old job to start his own custom trim company. He was called into action January 10. He met his company in Syracuse and then merged with another military company and headed to Kuwait. It was there DuSett said "reality hit hard," as he was stationed only 35 miles south of the Iraqi border. His division was responsible for taking hundreds of prisoners and moved through Southern Iraq into Baghdad. DuSett said the images of the Iraqi soldiers surrendering and the poverty throughout Southern Iraq are images that will live with him for a long time. DuSett said it was difficult to cope when communication was shut off between him and his family, but it was equally overwhelming when the mail resumed after the war. The support he was shown while overseas has followed back home to the Basin. While DuSett has only been home for a few days, he is sure that after his work overseas, life will never be the same again. "I've learned to appreciate what I have a lot more," said DuSett. "And I have a really loving family and some great friends." Those friends came out on Saturday to show him how much they care and they are planning to celebrate DuSett's return at the community's annual Basin Bash this July. For DuSett life now will mean trying to rebuild the business he had started just before he was called away. He already has plans to expand DuCo, his one-man company. He will be joining forces with his good friend, Jody Patchen. He has a lot of work ahead of him, but DuSett said he will be careful to not develop an all work, no play attitude. He and his family plan to buy a boat that they can all enjoy together. The people of Adams Basin plan to enjoy their summer with their friend Lew now home. Ian Penders, a 15-year old Brockport High School student and friend of the DuSett family, said he was "definitely excited" to see DuSett return. When one of his teachers recently asked the class to write a poem about someone they love, Ian decided to write about DuSett. In his writing he tried to put his friend's accomplishments in perspective. "Our Flag is free and Iraqis are, too. Thanks to the Army, the Navy and Lew."
|
