Father's Day involves some special people around Camp Pendleton, CA.
On this Father's Day, it should be noted that about 60 percent of military personnel — about 838,000 — are fathers, according to the Pentagon.More than 123,000 of these fathers are deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan. The lives of their children, says Nancy Campbell, who works in Army family services, "are turned upside down."
Untold numbers of men and women — relatives, neighbors, other servicemen and women — have marched to the aid of these children as temporary mentors. They play softball and board games, help with homework, and try to ease childhood's troubles with a sympathetic ear until the return of the deployed dads — or, sometimes, moms.
Some join programs like the one run by Big Brothers Big Sisters inside three public schools at Camp Pendleton, the city-sized base north of San Diego. Other mentors step forward informally to help brighten a dark time for a child.
"I got to have some time with somebody," said 11-year-old Gage Black at an end-of-school pool party at Camp Pendleton. "I'm not so lonely."
His father, who was away in Iraq, has now returned — but expects to ship out again soon.
Gage's mentor, Lt. Col. Sam Pelham, knows more than a little about comforting children: he is a father of three and, as a reservist, has worked in civilian life as an elementary school teacher. As mentor, Pelham would often ask the boy how his family was doing.
"If he was tight-lipped, I'd let him be tight-lipped," said Pelham. "It was his hour, and I didn't direct any of it. I was his running mate, basketball teammate, whatever he wanted."
Texas National Guard fathers in Iraq feel the separation too.
Maj. Greg Chaney, 38, of Abilene, said he'll be thinking of his daughters, 13-year-old Chelsea and 1-year-old Chera today. But the pangs of being away from home will not be a new experience."June is typically a month that the Texas National Guard is training, so we usually spend Father's Day away from home," he said.
This year, however, home seems especially far away for soldiers from the Guard's 56th Brigade Combat Team, as they struggle with heat, tedium and danger in dusty camps across Iraq.
The brigade's commander, Col. Red Brown, said an effort is being made to make soldiers "feel in touch with their families" on this special day.
Almost all troops will be given a chance to talk with their families, and the brigade's chaplain is preparing a special service.
"He plans to make sure fathers are recognized and that they can express their appreciation for their families," Brown said. "The families are absolutely the unsung heroes in this."
The 56th Brigade Combat Team is about halfway through a yearlong deployment in Iraq. The unit activated last July and spent six months training at Fort Hood before heading to Iraq.
"There are 3,000 Texas soldiers here, and each one has a different story," said Capt. Richard Jinks, a public affairs officer with the unit. "This is the national guard. These are guys who used to work with you or the guy who lives next door."
It turns out Father's Day in America was first conceived to thank a veteran.
Mrs. John B. Dodd, of Washington, first proposed the idea of a "father's day" in 1909. Mrs. Dodd wanted a special day to honor her father, William Smart. William Smart, a Civil War veteran, was widowed when his wife (Mrs. Dodd's mother) died in childbirth with their sixth child. Mr. Smart was left to raise the newborn and his other five children by himself on a rural farm in eastern Washington state. It was after Mrs. Dodd became an adult that she realized the strength and selflessness her father had shown in raising his children as a single parent.The first Father's Day was observed on June 19, 1910 in Spokane Washington. At about the same time in various towns and cities across American other people were beginning to celebrate a "father's day." In 1924 President Calvin Coolidge supported the idea of a national Father's Day. Finally in 1966 President Lyndon Johnson signed a presidential proclamation declaring the 3rd Sunday of June as Father's Day.
So, here's to all the soldier dads and those who stand behind them. Thanks for all you do.
Posted by Alan at June 19, 2005 08:19 AM