It was finally here.
The day we get to see Dominic.
This is the official end to the new cadets summer training. Now they parade out onto the plain and join
the rest of the corp in their new regiments.
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| Dominic is 2nd row, 2nd cadet. Kudos to our niece Bethany for getting this shot! |
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| Steve, AJ, Stefanie, Rachel, Grandpa Teddy, Granny Grandma, Bethany, Mike, Kayleigh, Ken, Vicki & Mark |
The parade and ceremony were very impressive to watch. First
the older cadets marched onto the field in their regiments. Then the new cadets marched on and stood in
front of the bleachers. They were then
accepted into the Corps of Cadets. They marched forward and blended into their new companies. Then all the companies paraded in front of
the superintendent. There are approximately 4000 cadets. It is a very impressive thing to see!
We were psyched to be able to spot Dominic
and we are so very proud that he is choosing this path to serve his country.
After the parade the cadets marched back to their quarters
where they had to be officially dismissed to join their families. The Army knew
how to insure that parents didn’t rush off the field. The Army Parachute team
did a demonstration. It was incredible to watch them drop out of the helicopter
and then come screaming down to the field.
Five great landings, very cool.
We all walked over to our spot to meet Dominic. We had quite a crowd of support. There were of course the five of us, but also
my parents, Steve’s mom, Steve’s sister Vicki, her husband Mike, their son Mark
and daughter Bethany with her husband and daughter, Ken and Kayleigh.
It was great to have so many people there for Dominic.
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| Rachel, Dominic & Stefanie |
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| Dominic & AJ |
We spotted Dominic walking across a field towards us, both
girls took off on a run to greet him.
Then it was hugs by everyone. It
was so great to see him in person after seven weeks. We all noticed a change in him right
away. Definitely a physical change, he was clearly
thinner after seven weeks of intense training but also carried himself
differently. He wasn’t just standing straighter but more confidently too. He
also spoke differently, more direct and very clear. The Army had been hard at work!
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| Proud, proud parents |
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| Grandpa Teddy, Granny, Dominic, Rachel, Stefanie & AJ |
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| Dominic & Grandma |
We took many pictures with him and before we got ready to
head to lunch we took on of him in front of Kosciuszko’s statue. As we were
finishing, a tour bus pulled up to the statue. A huge group of teenage girls jumped
off the bus and ran for Dominic to have their picture taken with him. He was
very gracious and smiled and posed until they were done. Telling them all to have a nice day when they
were finished.
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| He's kind of a big deal! |
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| We all enjoyed watching! |
We had a lovely lunch back at our hotel. The day was beautiful and we ate outside on
the patio all enjoying taking turns listening to Dominic’s stories about his
summer.
That night we tried a German restaurant for dinner. It
wasn’t quite what we expected. We’ve
probably been a little spoiled by actually living in Germany but it was a nice
dinner.
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| Dominic with Grandpa DelRosso's favorite - General Patton |
We got to spend most of Sunday with Dominic too. It was great to let him relax at the hotel
with his siblings. Then we took him shopping for a few things he needed and out
to one last good meal at Outback before we had to take him back to base.
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| Rachel, Missy, Dominic, Steve, Stefanie & AJ |
It was hard to say good-bye, it’s a long time until
Christmas. But he was ready to get back to work. We left him at Grant circle and we headed to
the airport.
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