USO honors service with sleep, smiles

Troops unwind at airport lounge

RALEIGH -- Christopher Erwin could have been any American enjoying a typical Memorial Day weekend Sunday.

He had 96 hours off from work, so he hopped on his motorcycle and rode through the state.

But while many others today will be enjoying backyard barbecues, walks on the beach or a few rounds of golf with family and friends, he'll be remembering a few of his friends who have died in the Iraq war.

Erwin is a fifth-generation Marine. Memorial Day for him is a time of reflection.

"It was kind of embedded in my head growing up what Memorial Day meant," said Erwin, a corporal in the 5th Battalion, 10th Marines. "After being deployed, I have full understanding of it. For me, it's gratitude."

On Sunday, on his way back to more artillery training at Camp Lejeune, he stopped off in the middle of the night at the area's only USO, at Raleigh-Durham International Airport, for some food and rest. It was his second time there. Erwin, who recently returned from a tour in Iraq as part of a civilian affairs mission, was grateful for the hospitality and camaraderie.

"They're all about making you comfortable here," he said. "It's the epitome of esprit de corps. It's still strong."

Volunteers at the USO, which is in Terminal A, say they hear that a lot.

More than 250 of them take shifts to man the USO around the clock every day to take care of service members, veterans and their families when they're traveling.

"It's like a home away from home," says director John Lucy. "They know they can come here and be fed and be comforted."

Almost every night, you'll find someone sleeping at the USO, a service member like Erwin on the road or another one waiting for a flight home. Sometimes it's so full, they're curled up sleeping on the floors or in the hallways.

A second USO planned for Terminal C is scheduled to open in 2010. It should give some relief, especially on Tuesdays and Thursdays, when traffic through the small lounge is the heaviest.

For now, despite being cramped at night, the USO feels plenty like home.

Eight plush recliners are lined up in two rows in front of a big-screen TV. There's satellite TV with hundreds of channels. And if that's not enough, volunteers have collected hundreds of DVDs to watch. Three computers are hooked up to the Internet, and there's wireless access. In the kitchen, three refrigerators and freezers are crammed full with sodas, hot dogs and ham to make sandwiches. Groups or volunteers in the community bring a steady supply of homemade cookies, pound cakes and doughnuts.

No one leaves hungry. Volunteers such as Juan and Anna Munoz from Garner see to it.

They're at the USO the second and fourth Sundays of each month, payback of sorts now that they're retired. They used to go to the USO overlooking Biscayne Bay in Miami years ago when he was in the Marines and they were first married.

"The USO was out of this world," he said. "We used to go there all the time."

They, too, will spend Memorial Day being grateful and honoring those who have served, by planning a reunion with a friend whom Juan Munoz served with in Vietnam.

"We've got to honor them by being here, still alive," he said.