- Reaction score
- 0
- Points
- 410
On the other side of world
MICHELE MANDEL SAYS MAN TREASURES HOME MORE NOW
By MICHELE MANDEL, TORONTO SUN
Sun, April 11, 2004
THOUSANDS OF miles away, in the trenches of violence and **** that is now war in Iraq, a Mississauga man dreams of home. And cheers on the Toronto Maple Leafs.
A specialist and team leader in the First Infantry Division of the American army, the 23-year-old son of a Canadian mother and American father drove down to Buffalo and enlisted six months after 9/11. "Carl felt he was needed," his mom Anne said yesterday, as CNN images of more Iraqi battles play in the background. "He was deeply moved by the impact of the attack on the United States and saddened by our government‘s response to it."
Iraq was not on the horizon, not back then. But this past Christmas, his base in Germany gave him leave to come home for a short visit. His unit had been told they were shipping out to Iraq come February to begin a year-long stint -- the last year of his three-year tour of duty.
His parents worried, but the situation in Iraq had settled down. Or so it seemed. In the last few weeks, they‘ve watched in horror as American soldiers have come under fierce fire from renewed resistance while American civilians have been mutilated and international aid workers, including a Canadian, have been kidnapped.
"It‘s very, very nervewracking and heart wrenching. We watch CNN every day. It puts fear in our hearts, for sure," his mom says. "I need to watch and at the same time, I don‘t want to watch. It‘s hard to know our son is so close to that."
He is deployed north of Baghdad in the midst of what is called the Sunni triangle, a flashpoint of insurrection by factions hellbent on driving out the Americans.
"They‘re getting mortars and rockets fired on them every day," says his dad, Carl Sr., with a trace of the drawl of south Florida despite his 27 years here. "He‘s going to come home with memories that are going to be hard. But he‘s doing his best to show calm and control for the other men."
What mystifies their son is the lack of support Canada has shown for the Iraq war. "He feels he is serving a good purpose over there and that the people there definitely need help to get out of the situation they‘re in," his mom says.
But they have seen enough anti-American feeling in Toronto over the last year of the conflict to fear for their safety and have asked that their last name not be published.
They live hour by hour, with their only lifeline being the miracle of e-mail. The soldiers have access to a computer, but must wait from 45 minutes to two hours to get a turn.
"He worries about the men he is in charge of and expresses to us that he feels the strain, especially when they are all under fire," Anne says.
Carl spends most of his time trying to reassure them.
"We can tell he‘ll make light of certain situations. We know it‘s deeper and darker than that. It‘s his way of saying it‘s okay, don‘t you worry or I‘ll have to worry about you worrying."
Every week, they send a care parcel that can take three to six weeks to reach him. They include his favourite Tim Hortons coffee, tuna, Japanese treats, tiny packages of toilet paper and even The Toronto Sun. "It keeps him connected to home," his mom says. He gets to read what‘s happening on the other side of the world. His side of the world."
In his package this week, his parents are sending a Leafs T-shirt. "He‘s trying to connect to his Canadian roots," his mom says.
Being Canadian does get him teased by his men, but as his dad explains with a laugh, they quickly back off when they‘re threatened with a few extra push-ups.
‘MAKES YOU GRATEFUL‘
His parents have found that his being so far from home has made their son treasure Canada more than ever. He‘s told them that when his last year in the army is up, he plans to come back, settle out in the country and apply to a police force here.
"He says it makes you grateful for what you have."
In the meantime, his homesickness can be felt through words he wrote just a few days ago from what seems a million miles away.
He sent an e-mail to The Sun from Samara, Iraq, asking us to publish greetings to his parents, brother Matthew and friends, Rob, Dave and Freddy: "I miss all of you guys very much and I can‘t wait to get back home and relax up north and maybe enjoy another May 24 weekend at Wasaga beach," the soldier wrote.
"And I just want to add, GO LEAFS GO. You got guys here rooting for ya!"
MICHELE MANDEL SAYS MAN TREASURES HOME MORE NOW
By MICHELE MANDEL, TORONTO SUN
Sun, April 11, 2004
THOUSANDS OF miles away, in the trenches of violence and **** that is now war in Iraq, a Mississauga man dreams of home. And cheers on the Toronto Maple Leafs.
A specialist and team leader in the First Infantry Division of the American army, the 23-year-old son of a Canadian mother and American father drove down to Buffalo and enlisted six months after 9/11. "Carl felt he was needed," his mom Anne said yesterday, as CNN images of more Iraqi battles play in the background. "He was deeply moved by the impact of the attack on the United States and saddened by our government‘s response to it."
Iraq was not on the horizon, not back then. But this past Christmas, his base in Germany gave him leave to come home for a short visit. His unit had been told they were shipping out to Iraq come February to begin a year-long stint -- the last year of his three-year tour of duty.
His parents worried, but the situation in Iraq had settled down. Or so it seemed. In the last few weeks, they‘ve watched in horror as American soldiers have come under fierce fire from renewed resistance while American civilians have been mutilated and international aid workers, including a Canadian, have been kidnapped.
"It‘s very, very nervewracking and heart wrenching. We watch CNN every day. It puts fear in our hearts, for sure," his mom says. "I need to watch and at the same time, I don‘t want to watch. It‘s hard to know our son is so close to that."
He is deployed north of Baghdad in the midst of what is called the Sunni triangle, a flashpoint of insurrection by factions hellbent on driving out the Americans.
"They‘re getting mortars and rockets fired on them every day," says his dad, Carl Sr., with a trace of the drawl of south Florida despite his 27 years here. "He‘s going to come home with memories that are going to be hard. But he‘s doing his best to show calm and control for the other men."
What mystifies their son is the lack of support Canada has shown for the Iraq war. "He feels he is serving a good purpose over there and that the people there definitely need help to get out of the situation they‘re in," his mom says.
But they have seen enough anti-American feeling in Toronto over the last year of the conflict to fear for their safety and have asked that their last name not be published.
They live hour by hour, with their only lifeline being the miracle of e-mail. The soldiers have access to a computer, but must wait from 45 minutes to two hours to get a turn.
"He worries about the men he is in charge of and expresses to us that he feels the strain, especially when they are all under fire," Anne says.
Carl spends most of his time trying to reassure them.
"We can tell he‘ll make light of certain situations. We know it‘s deeper and darker than that. It‘s his way of saying it‘s okay, don‘t you worry or I‘ll have to worry about you worrying."
Every week, they send a care parcel that can take three to six weeks to reach him. They include his favourite Tim Hortons coffee, tuna, Japanese treats, tiny packages of toilet paper and even The Toronto Sun. "It keeps him connected to home," his mom says. He gets to read what‘s happening on the other side of the world. His side of the world."
In his package this week, his parents are sending a Leafs T-shirt. "He‘s trying to connect to his Canadian roots," his mom says.
Being Canadian does get him teased by his men, but as his dad explains with a laugh, they quickly back off when they‘re threatened with a few extra push-ups.
‘MAKES YOU GRATEFUL‘
His parents have found that his being so far from home has made their son treasure Canada more than ever. He‘s told them that when his last year in the army is up, he plans to come back, settle out in the country and apply to a police force here.
"He says it makes you grateful for what you have."
In the meantime, his homesickness can be felt through words he wrote just a few days ago from what seems a million miles away.
He sent an e-mail to The Sun from Samara, Iraq, asking us to publish greetings to his parents, brother Matthew and friends, Rob, Dave and Freddy: "I miss all of you guys very much and I can‘t wait to get back home and relax up north and maybe enjoy another May 24 weekend at Wasaga beach," the soldier wrote.
"And I just want to add, GO LEAFS GO. You got guys here rooting for ya!"
