Valley Chapel UMC delivers annual Valentine's gifts to 201st Field Artillery Regiment
FAIRMONT — Even though nothing is really planned by the Marion County National Guard Armory for Valentine's Day, the women of the Valley Chapel United Methodist Church still like to make it a little special for the guards members who serve.
Marcella Yaremchuk and one other member of the church stopped by Armory on Thursday armed with candy for members of the 201st Field Artillery Regiment. It's become a yearly tradition for them.
'For us here in the 201st, we've annually been getting these gifts from Miss Yaremchuk,' Maj. James Wikle said. 'We greatly appreciate them because we give them out over the weekend. This has kind of become a tradition for us here, which has been really nice.'
Wikle said Valentine's Day gets a pretty standard celebration on military installations. Most soldiers try to get home to their spouses or significant others for a typical Valentine's Day date. Since Valentine's Day and President's Day fall on the same weekend this year, some of the men took a little bit of a longer weekend to take a trip into the mountains with their partners. Overall, it's a more relaxed environment, Wikle said.
Lt. Cody Eversole was grateful to receive candy from the local community.
'It's really good candy too, I've seen the peanut butter M&M's,' he said. 'It's my favorite.'
Eversole said he took his girlfriend out to dinner for Valentine's Day but other than that, it's business as usual. Eversole is the battalion training officer. He helps coordinate all the major training events at the armory. He also performs various administrative tasks on a part-time basis.
The 201st Field Artillery Regiment is a unit with a storied history. It's been in existence since Feb. 17, 1735, it's 290th anniversary was earlier this week.
The unit was part of the Continental Army and has served in every major American war since the country's inception. The unit's service record even predates the country, and it also saw action during the French and Indian War, which tilled the soil for the future American Revolution. Most recently, the unit began sending guardsmen down to the southern part of the state to assist with the flooding that's taking place there.
Wikle said community involvement is important for the National Guard because it's a community based organization, that supports the local community. Building bonds between the community and the guard makes their job a lot easier, plus, it's nice to be appreciated, he said.
'Community buy-in is huge,' Eversole said. 'Not only does it remind us why we do what we do, it also helps buy-in and increase recruiting and retention.'
Wikle added the 201st also does Wreath's Across America every year with Yaremchuk, and they also directly support football teams at the local high schools. Yaremchuk said the guard does more than that. They also allow groups to use the building for events, they've allowed New Year's Eve and Valentine's Day Dances in the past.
'They are the ones who are here for us locally,' Yaremchuk said. 'They're our state people who are here when we have gasoline shortages, flooding, problems of any kind. They're activated by the governor, so they're here in West Virginia. It's wonderful we have troops who are in other states, but we in Fairmont, West Virginia need to show our appreciation for our local National Guard.'
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