On June 5th 2004, the World War II Airborne Demonstration Team enjoyed the great privilege of participating in the celebrations surrounding the 60th Anniversary of the D-Day invasion of France. Jumping from a C-47 aircraft, the team members preceded a mass drop of troopers from the famed 82nd Airborne Division. During this event we met and made many new friends, amongst them, Chief Warrant Officer Eugenia Emmons who participated in the ground support for all jumpers.
On Saturday April 14th 2007, Eugenia Emmons was called home to be with the Lord as she passed away peacefully after losing a year long battle with cancer. Geni as she was known, was a graduate of Traverse City High School and enlisted in the Army in 1986 going on to serve her country for more than 20 years. During this time she served as an NBC Specialist in the 82nd Airborne Division until her honorable discharge in 1986, when she transitioned to the Reserves, where she served with the 824th Quartermaster Company. Upon her return to active duty in 1993, Geni hit her stride as an Army Rigger. Her assignments included USASOC, 7th SFG (A), TEXCOM, 82nd Airborne Division, 24th QM Detachment, 173rd Airborne Brigade and most recently the 1st TSC.
Her duty positions included parachute packer/inspector, squad leader, tester/inspector, shop foreman, platoon sergeant, platoon tech., platoon leader and S-3 Air. She was also a graduate of PLDC, BNCOC, WOC, WOBC, SERE High Risk Level C, JAI, HAZMAT, Airload Planners Course, HALO Rigging and the 02 Training Course. She had been deployed to Honduras, Egypt, Japan, Thailand, Puerto Rico and most recently to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.
Her awards include; the Combat Action Badge, Master Parachutist and the Parachutist Badge of the Peoples Republic of China, Egypt, Honduras and Thailand, while her decorations include; MSM with oak leaf cluster, ARCOM with oak leaf cluster, AAM withoak leaf cluster, NCOES with numeral 2, overseas ribbon, ASR, NDSM with bronze star, GCM 4th award, GWOT Service Medal, Afghanistan Campaign Medal, Meritorious Unit Commendation and Army Superior Unit Award.
Geni always looked to the future and earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science from APUS/Army in 2005 and her desire was to become an attorney upon her retirement from the army. She was an accomplished horsewoman and a loving mother to her children Kaytee, Karee, Kristee and Anthony as well as a devoted wife to husband MSG Michael J Emmons.
A funeral service was held for Geni on Friday April 20th 2007 at Our Redeemer Lutheran Church before she was finally laid to rest at Lafayette Memorial Park, with full military honors. For those of us who knew her only too briefly and to her family and close friends, she will be sorely missed. Our loss means heaven has another angel.
