Why does Daddy have to go?
by Dawn H
“Why does Daddy have to go?” I remember our seven year old daughter asking me on the way home. We had just dropped off daddy at the airport. He told me to drop him off outside the airport. “I want to go in to see you off,” I told him. “No, its better this way,” he said. It was going to be a long eight months before we saw him again. As me, our daughter and her 10 month old baby brother cried all the way home. I just kept thinking of all the things he would miss. Justin’s first birthday, his first steps, etc. “Well kids it’s just us I told them.” For the next 8 months we would keep in touch as a family by mail and calling each other on the phone. It was hard but in eight months, he came home again and we all got reacquainted. We enjoyed the quiet moments, playing games, reading stories, or even just looking at one another. We knew this happiness would be over in one month. I think that was harder on him to return to Korea for his last 3 months over there. He now knew what he was missing and the kids were just getting used to him again. The last 3 months were the hardest for us both. Only a couple of days upon his return, we all watched in horror the events unfold on 11 September 2001 in a hotel room. That is the day it was etched upon our hearts just what it means to be an American. Especially since me and my husband serve together. Just seven days later we were flying to our next assignment overseas. There are many sacrifices to serving but it’s all worth it to serve this great country