For the soldiers,
a roof over their heads

By Diane Prokop
Times Staff Writer

Last June, when National Guard families welcomed back B-Troop 1/104 Cavalry to the National Guard Armory at Roosevelt Boulevard and Southampton Road after an 18-month deployment and a year in Iraq, they did so waiting in the hot sun.
While there were no complaints — the families were thrilled to have their citizen soldiers home — an idea began to form to build a gazebo, a true welcoming spot for the National Guardsmen and their families.
Last week, that idea came to fruition with not just a small gazebo but a large pavilion, with a few picnic tables scattered outside it on the grass. The Pennsylvania Army National Guard Edward Coryell Sr. Pavilion was dedicated to the men and women of the National Guard of Pennsylvania and their families.
The pavilion was named for Ed Coryell, executive secretary/business manager for the United Brotherhood of Carpenters & Joiners of America.
While Coryell, a Vietnam Veteran himself, said he may have gotten people together and written a couple of checks, he credited the craftsmen from all of the trades who made the pavilion a reality.
They include members of the Carpenters Local 1856 & Affiliates; Rod Setters Local 405; Cement Finishers Local 592; Iron Workers Structural Local 401; Painters District Council Local 21; Operating Engineers Local 542; Carpenters Apprenticeship School; Bob Thackray, who donated heavy equipment; the design team of Donald Kopezynski and Charles LeTere; JD Morrisey, which donated concrete; and Bustleton Services, which donated landscaping services.
State Rep. George Kenney (R-170th dist.) and City Council candidate Sean McAleer, as well as aides to state Sen. Michael Stack (D-5th dist.), state House Speaker Dennis O’Brien (R-169th dist.) and U.S. Rep Allyson Schwartz (D-13th dist.), were also on hand for the dedication.
The Patriot Riders, American Legion and other veterans groups were well represented and surrounded the pavilion with American flags for the ceremony.
According to Lt. Col. Mark O’Hanlon, the veterans groups are big supporters of the 10 National Guard units based out of the armory, as they arrive home or as they deploy to Iraq, Afghanistan and Kosovo.
Some family members of B-troopers that returned from Iraq in June 2006 will get to see off their soldiers once again come November, as they head off to Sinai, Egypt. Whatever the weather, the families will be sheltered from the sun, the wind and the rain as they say their good-byes.
Coryell alluded to possible future projects at the armory.
"I see a lot of green pasture," he said.
Lt. Col. Marc Ferraro, commander of the armory-based 56th Stryker Brigade, is also looking forward to more projects.
"You can’t beat the price," he said. ••
Reporter Diane Prokop can be reached at 215-354-3036 or dprokop@phillynews.com