IRAQ WAR INTENSIFIES EMOTIONS OF MILITARY MOMS.Byline: Rachel Uranga and Dana Bartholomew Staff Writers When Brenda Freeman, her husband and three of her children sit down for a Mother's Day feast of barbecued salmon, one chair will sit empty. It's the chair saved for her eldest son, 19-year-old U.S. Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Eric Freeman Eric Walter Freeman (born 13 July 1944, Semaphore, South Australia) is a former Australian cricketer who played in 11 Tests from 1968 to 1970. , fighting halfway around the world on his second deployment in Iraq. ``You realize you are helpless and you just have to let go,'' said the Thousand Oaks Thousand Oaks, residential city (1990 pop. 104,352), Ventura co., S Calif., in a farm area; inc. 1964. Avocados, citrus, vegetables, strawberries, and nursery products are grown. mom. ``There is nothing to be gained by obsessing on the news or your son who could be in a bloody firefight fire·fight n. An exchange of gunfire, as between infantry units. .'' Today, thousands of mothers will spend Mother's Day without their military sons and daughters, holding on to hope for their safe return from the fields of battle. Some remain glued to the news. Others shun Shun In Chinese mythology, one of the three legendary emperors, along with Yao and Da Yu, of the golden age of antiquity (c. 23rd century BC), singled out by Confucius as models of integrity and virtue. their TV sets. All orient their lives - sometimes on the edge of their couches - waiting for that single static-filled phone call from war zones in Iraq, Afghanistan or elsewhere. Forget flowers. Nothing means more than the knowledge that on Mother's Day, their sons and daughters will call home, write home and eventually come home for good. ``Just to hear his voice,'' said Annette James of Granada Hills, who won't even go to church today so she won't risk missing a call from her son, Marine Corps Reserve Cpl. Brandon Tucker, 26, a reservist re·serv·ist n. A member of a military reserve. reservist Noun a member of a nation's military reserve Noun 1. in Iraq since February. ``For him to be safe, to know that he's safe, to know he'll come home.'' Quietly hoping To be steadfast and strong is the refrain of every military mom. On Mother's Day, they will not dwell on the missing place setting. They will laugh, eat, be with their families - and quietly hope. ``It's just something you do,'' said Freeman, whose son joined the Marines on Sept. 8, 2001. ``Being strong, being hopeful.'' Despite her resolve, she still spends hours a day reading military weblogs and has created a message board devoted to her son's 3rd Battalion, 4th Marines, which gained fame for toppling the bronze statue of Saddam Hussein Saddam Hussein (born April 28, 1937, Tikrit, Iraq—died Dec. 30, 2006, Baghdad) President of Iraq (1979–2003). He joined the Ba'th Party in 1957. Following participation in a failed attempt to assassinate Iraqi Pres. . An estimated 135,000 military men and women are in Iraq, with 20,000 more deployed in Afghanistan and about 45,000 support units stationed in surrounding countries. More than 700 of them have returned home in flag-draped caskets. Maria Ayon of Arleta will take a painful Mother's Day journey to her son's grave. Marine Pfc. Eric Ayon was killed last month during a fierce gunbattle in Al Anbar province near Fallujah. ``I am staying strong for him,'' Ayon said, wiping away a tear. ``I'm thankful he was such a good son.'' But the truth is that every day has been a struggle and every night she talks with the ghost of her son. Ayon walks past the white walls through her living room and stands in front of a nearly 2-foot-long picture of her son. He stares straight back at her, dressed in a crisp, blue uniform. It was the same photo that stood in front of Holy Family Catholic Church's congregation the day of his funeral, April 17. ``I still can't believe it,'' she says. ``He told me they were going to move him to a less dangerous place.'' The home front Cheryl Grissom of Porter Ranch knows about wrestling with the specter of far-off calamity. After her son, Marine Corps Reserve Sgt. Jacob Phillips, was sent to Iraq in February 2003, she co-founded the Home Front Ministry at Shepherd of the Hills Church in Porter Ranch. The Home Front group of mostly 250 mothers and wives of servicemen overseas pray together and support one another. They also send prayer books and care packages from home and local businesses. ``Having a son deployed is one of the most difficult things I've ever gone through in my life,'' said Grissom, her son, now an officer with the Glendale Police Department, standing by her side. ``Not having had the support group, the prayer group, (and) the help from the Lord would have made it unbearable. This whole event has made my walk with the Lord stronger. The power of prayer, there's no words ...'' This Mother's Day is especially blessed because her son is safe at home to spend time with his wife and daughters. What lingers is the fear that Phillips, like many Marines in his unit, may soon be redeployed. ``I don't think there was any way I could reassure her until I was home,'' said Phillips, 28, of Santa Clarita Santa Clarita, city (1990 pop. 110,642), Los Angeles co., S Calif., suburb 30 mi (48 km) NW of downtown Los Angeles, on the Santa Clara River; inc. 1987. Situated in the Santa Clara valley and nearby canyons, Santa Clarita includes the former towns of Canyon Country, James, who'll be missing church today, has also found comfort in the Home Front Ministry, whose bulletin board at Shepherd of the Hills is filled with the faces of troops in uniform, including her son in pressed dress blues Noun 1. dress blues - a dress uniform for formal occasions dress whites dress uniform - a military uniform worn on formal occasions plural, plural form - the form of a word that is used to denote more than one . One recent day, James and the group prayed for her son Brandon, who had a 3.5 grade point average at Valley College the day he was deployed. ``He called the next morning,'' James said. ``I told him my life group just prayed for him - this is a miracle.'' Jacqueline Carranza, whose son, U.S. Army Pvt. Allan Lezama, is stationed near Baghdad, also derives comfort from her church, The Church of Jesus Christ Church of Jesus Christ may refer to:
``My faith keeps me sane,'' said Carranza of South Los Angeles South Los Angeles is the official name for a large geographic and cultural area lying to the southwest and southeast of downtown Los Angeles, California. The area was formerly called South Central Los Angeles, and is still sometimes called South Central. . ``God helps me know that he is safe.'' On Mother's Day, she said the best gift is to know that he is safe. Moms fight too But not all moms are awaiting news from their sons and daughters. The war against terrorism has called up many reservists and National Guardsmen, including mothers themselves. For Petty Officer 1st Class
Petty Officer 1st Class or PO1 is a Naval non-commissioned member rank of the Canadian Forces. Suzana Perez, who expects to be deployed to the Persian Gulf Persian Gulf, arm of the Arabian Sea, 90,000 sq mi (233,100 sq km), between the Arabian peninsula and Iran, extending c.600 mi (970 km) from the Shatt al Arab delta to the Strait of Hormuz, which links it with the Gulf of Oman. on an aircraft carrier later this month, Mother's Day will be bittersweet bittersweet, name for two unrelated plants, belonging to different families, both fall-fruiting woody vines sometimes cultivated for their decorative scarlet berries. . Before she goes, the mother stationed at Naval Base A naval base primarily for support of the forces afloat, contiguous to a port or anchorage, consisting of activities or facilities for which the Navy has operating responsibilities, together with interior lines of communications and the minimum surrounding area necessary for local Ventura County will spend Mother's Day with her two adopted grandchildren GRANDCHILDREN, domestic relations. The children of one's children. Sometimes these may claim bequests given in a will to children, though in general they can make no such claim. 6 Co. 16. in New Mexico New Mexico, state in the SW United States. At its northwestern corner are the so-called Four Corners, where Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, and Utah meet at right angles; New Mexico is also bordered by Oklahoma (NE), Texas (E, S), and Mexico (S). , where two of her close friends look after the children. Perez has devoted more than 15 years to the Navy and nearly dropped out after taking custody of Armando Agustin Perez, 7, and Susana Angelica Perez, 5. ``Just the idea of staying with them for Mother's Day, it's the best,'' Perez said. Though Perez expects to be out of the line of fire, she will be far from the arms of her grandchildren. Tears welled in her eyes as she recounted the conversation she had with Susana. She hangs on to every word and with a smile tells how her granddaughter received a certificate for her good grades at school last month. ``I wish I could have them here with me, but it's just not possible,'' she said with the confidence and assuredness of a military woman. For Diane De Paolo, the mother of 19-year-old Marine Pvt. Adam Deutsch, it's all about being optimistic op·ti·mist n. 1. One who usually expects a favorable outcome. 2. A believer in philosophical optimism. op . De Paolo said she had begged her son last year not to join, but eventually relented after realizing it was a foregone conclusion foregone conclusion n. 1. An end or a result regarded as inevitable: The victory was a foregone conclusion. See Usage Note at foregone. 2. . Today, she'll relish Mother's Day with her son. A few months from now he'll be off to the Middle East. ``You have got to be positive, you have got to be positive for him,'' said De Paolo of Burbank. She is also a board member of Marine Parents, a support group of Marine moms. Today, De Paolo will cook dinner for Adam and four of his friends who, stationed at the Twentynine Palms Marine Corps Base, are far away from their moms and home. ``I am engulfing him in arms armed for war; in a state of hostility. See also: Arms because I don't know Don't know (DK, DKed) "Don't know the trade." A Street expression used whenever one party lacks knowledge of a trade or receives conflicting instructions from the other party. if they will be back.'' Rachel Uranga, (818) 713-3741 rachel.uranga(at)dailynews.com INFORMATION For more information about Home Front Ministry, call (818) 831-9333. For information about parents of Marines, contact www.marinemoms.us/usmc. CAPTION(S): 5 photos, box Photo: (1 -- color) Annette James of Granada Hills holds a picture of her son, Brandon Tucker, who is serving with the Marines in Iraq. (2) Annette James of Granada Hills hopes to get a Mother's Day call from her son, Brandon Tucker, who is serving with the Marines in Iraq. She's happy ``just to hear his voice,'' she said. Evan Yee/Staff Photographer (3 -- color) When Cheryl Grissom's son, Staff Sgt. Jacob Phillips of the U.S. Marine Corps Reserves, was sent to Iraq in February 2003, she co-founded the Home Front Ministry at Shepherd of the Hills Church in Porter Ranch. David Sprague/Staff Photographer (4) Petty Officer 1st Class Suzana Perez, who expects to be deployed to the Persian Gulf later this month, has to leave her two adopted grandchildren with friends while she's away. Michael Owen
(5) Maria Ayon of Arleta will take a painful Mother's Day journey today to the grave of her son, Marine Pfc. Eric Ayon, who was killed last month during a fierce gunbattle near Fallujah, Iraq. Box: INFORMATION (see text) |
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