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Strollerderby
Cheyne Parham, a US Army Captain, fell in love while stationed in Korea. He married Mary Joy, a Philippine citizen, and they had twin daughters in August 2008. But he’s only seen his children for a fraction of their young lives, because the American Consulate in Manila won’t issue passports to his family, and visas to enter the US.
In addition to feeling really emotional, I’ve also felt pretty icky watching videos of soldiers returning home to the considerable surprise of their children. It’s kind of a private moment, and yet there I am, along with 3 million of my closest friends, clicking on the link while I drink my morning coffee.
You know how they go: Dad, who has been away in Afghanistan or Iraq, returns home earlier than the child expected. Rather than wait until the child is home, the dad — and someone holding a camera — show up at school/the corner bakery/a football game/as Santa.
Child sits stunned for a moment, then runs to dad. Kid cries. Dad cries. Camera-holder cries. We all cry. Video gets uploaded. CNN runs it round the clock. More tears.
It’s almost fun, like a movie. But, ew. That’s a real kid … whose real dad was away at war. Then Dad suddenly appeared out of nowhere. Doesn’t that mess with their minds even a little bit? Continue reading »
A pregnant soldier who had just returned from Iraq and was expected to be going out on maternity leave has been listed as one of the casualties in Thursday’s shooting at the Fort Hood military base.
According to the New York Daily News, Francheska Velez had been back in the states just three days when Army Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan opened fire on base, killing 13. Continue reading »
Ten-year-old Tina thinks that she’s doing a school report about her dad. He’s Master Sergeant Joe Meyers, currently stationed in Iraq she tells us proudly on her video.
Only he’s not really. He’s home — whether for leave or for good, we don’t know for sure — and he shows up in Tina’s fourth grade classroom to surprise her (on Halloween) while she gets ready to give her report.
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