|  Gregory D. Lee Read Greg's bio and previous columns here
July 17, 2009
My Son Returns Home from War in Afghanistan
Last July I wrote about
my wife and me seeing our 1LT Army infantry son, Christopher B. Lee, deploy
to Afghanistan with his unit, the 1st Infantry Division (Big Red One) from
Fort Hood, Texas. I received many wonderful responses from readers, one of
which actually had a cousin who was part of the same deployment.
It is hard for a parent
to see their son off to war. The worry about his safety slowly wears on you.
Every time Afghanistan was mentioned on the news, my ears perked up to hear
what has happening.
In one of his first
e-mails Chris sent from Afghanistan, he wrote: “But
you don't have to worry about me . . . I am sure my platoon will do fine and
I trust my guys. However, the likelihood of me getting some real trigger
time is almost a certainty in this Area of Operation which is fine with me,
because I didn't come here to hand out candy.”
No, I guess the Army
didn’t send the 1st ID there to hand out candy.
Once he got his feet
wet as a platoon leader, Chris started sending hair-raising e-mails about
his experiences. He talked of the “fun” he was having on patrols calling in
air strikes on Taliban positions, and meeting with Afghan elders. The
detailed e-mails didn’t leave me or his mother with a warm and fuzzy
feeling, and I wish he had toned them down a bit for his mother’s sake. He
wrote that the steep terrain, coupled with the heat and high altitude, made
walking with a heavy rucksack and his equipment challenging. One soldier
constantly lagged behind until Chris “motivated” him by throwing a rock that
bounced off his Kevlar helmet to get his attention. He then followed up with
a stern counseling session on why everyone had to pull their own weight as a
team in order to fight and survive.
Then in October, his
e-mails abruptly stopped. While attending a friend’s birthday party, my
Blackberry signaled I had an e-mail. Mr. Jim Kippenhan, the reader who told
me about his cousin being assigned to my son’s unit, wrote to inform me that
Specialist Steve Fortunato had been killed in action. I wrote the retired
Chief Petty Officer back sending him my condolences, and called my
daughter-in-law to see if she had received such a notification. She had not.
About 10 days went by
until an e-mail from Chris finally arrived. He wrote that there is a
communication blackout whenever a soldier is killed in action. The army
doesn’t want a parent or spouse to hear the devastating news except from
official channels. Specialist Fortunato and two other soldiers in his
battalion were killed by a roadside bomb. Chris was assigned to take care of
the remains of one of the other soldiers, and flew to Bagram Air Force Base
with the bodies and their personal effects in order to have everything ready
for transport to their grieving families.
For a 24-year-old kid,
Chris was growing up rapidly. West Point gave him direction, but war and
death gave him insights.
Chris got his mid-tour
15 days of R&R and managed to come home during Christmas. He was sullen when
he announced he would be returning to Afghanistan to perform a staff job at
his headquarters. He wanted to get back into the fight. My wife, his wife
and I couldn’t be happier.
After about a five-day
process flying through different bases, now-Captain Lee returned home to
Fort Hood, Texas. His wife, Katie and daughter, Avary, were there to greet
him. The last thing they needed was dad and mom around to interfere with
them making up for lost time. Katie kept photos of Chris all around her home
so their 18-month-old daughter would recognize her dad when he returned –
and she did.
During Chris’s
deployment, the 1st ID and supporting elements suffered 30 soldiers killed
in action. Soldiers were awarded four Silver Stars, 139 Purple Hearts, and
790 Bronze Stars (67 for Valor).
These brave soldiers
sacrificed life and limb for their country, and may God bless Specialist
Fortunato and the rest of them.
Gregory D. Lee can be reached through his web site:
www.gregorydlee.com.
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