If you live in Iron Mountain or Kingsford, please take a bow!

The following article was submitted to SooToday.com by Congressman Bart Stupak, who represents Michigan's Upper Peninsula as part of the 1st Congressional District of Michigian.

*********************** Small-town America at its best

Recently, I had the honor of attending the farewell ceremony for the 46th National Guard Military Police Company in Kingsford.

The unit departed for Grayling to form up with other Michigan unit members and then onto Fort Dix, New Jersey, for training before they ultimately deploy to Iraq.

These sixty brave men and women have left behind their families, homes and communities to spend the next 12 months in Iraq serving their country.

While it was an honor for me to be invited to address these brave young men and women, what was truly inspiring was the spectacular manner in which the local communities rallied to see off these local heroes.

After breakfast and a brief ceremony, the troops loaded into buses and began their drive from Iron Mountain, through Dickinson County on their way to the Mackinac Bridge and eventually Camp Grayling.

As the buses pulled away from Kingsford, they were led by a motorcycle escort of Vietnam veterans.

Winding their way through Dickinson County, the buses went out of their way to drive by the Iron Mountain VA hospital.

As the buses left the Kingsford and Iron Mountain area, stores along the road emptied out and local citizens stepped out to wave and wish well our local troops.

At nearly every local intersection, citizens stood, expressing their support for the 46th.

Everywhere I looked, people of all ages had arrived simply to demonstrate their support for their local troops.

Yellow ribbons, American flags, banners, balloons and signs reading "God Bless Our 46th" provided colorful, visual reminders of the community's support and powerful reminders of why I am so proud to represent Michigan's 1st Congressional District, which is home to more veterans than any of Michigan's other Congressional districts.

Our brave men and women of the 46th Military Police Company face a tough assignment ahead of them.

Being away from their families in a hostile and foreign land is a trying experience for anyone.

I can only hope that the heartfelt showing of support from their families, friends and neighbors will provide the men and women of the 46th with solace as they go abroad.

On that Sunday, there seemed to be a shared, if unspoken, sentiment among all the well wishers.

Through our presence, all of us were saying, "We will be here when you return!"

I can only hope that message provided some comfort to our troops and their families. In the meantime, I am proud of the patriotic support of the people of Iron Mountain, Kingsford and surrounding communities.

Thank you for taking the time to show our troops how much all Americans support our men and women in uniform. To me, that is small town America at its best and it is truly reflective of northern Michigan!

********************