Home for Christmas

[thedrifter]

Soldiers home for Christmas <br />
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A trio of 2001 Ponderosa High School graduates reunited Dec. 20 after a turbulent post-graduation period that took them around the world and forced them through ordeals...

[thedrifter]

Lex family reunited

Three Marines, college student come together for the holidays

By Ron Simon
News Journal

LEXINGTON -- For the first time in years, all four of David and Delores Smith's sons are home for Christmas.

But it was not the holiday that brought a trio of Marine helicopter pilots and a college student together.

It was tragedy.

Marine Capts. David, 32, and Daniel, 30, and First Lt. Drew, 24, are all Naval Academy graduates and Marine Corps helicopter pilots.

Drake, 20, is an engineering student at Akron University with no military plans.

On Dec. 3, Daniel's wife, Jennifer, 25, died in the University of California Hospital in San Diego of complications from cancer and pneumonia.

"The last time we were together was at Christmas two years ago," David said. "We were not all going to make it home this year."

All three fly the CH-46 helicopter and Daniel was doing that in Iraq in August when word came that Jennifer had been diagnosed with cancer.

"I was on a plane coming home the next day," he said. The couple were together with their son, Daniel Jr., now 16 months old, until Jennifer went into the hospital Nov. 12.

For this Christmas at the Smith home on Ohio 546 south of Lexington, the sons flew in from California and Florida.

David Smith is a flight school instructor at Pensacola, Fla. Drew Smith is stationed at Camp Pendleton, Calif., the same as his brother, Daniel.

To round it out, Drake was home from Akron University.

Daniel said he and his older brother, David, have spent a large part of their military careers being deployed around the world.

Daniel said he and Jennifer had been married for five years. "We were only together for three of those years. On every one of our anniversaries, I was deployed overseas, once in Greece, once in Portugal, once in Korea and once in Kuwait."

In Iraq for seven months, Daniel said his job was assault support, carrying ground troops from one location to the next. "Then it was casualty evacuation. That kept us busy every hour of the night and day. There was more business than we ever expected," he said.

He said the satisfying part of the job is knowing that swift evacuation is saving lives that might otherwise be lost.

Daniel Smith and Jennifer Weaver met while he was stationed at Pensacola and she is buried in that Florida city. He and his little boy are headed back to California. There are no separations in their future.

"I'll never have to deploy again," Daniel Smith said. In January, Daniel starts classes at the Naval Graduate School to earn his military master's degree in manpower management. His next assignment will be a four-year hitch at Quantico, Va. "By that time, I'll have 15 years," he said.

Smith said he wondered if he could continue his Marine career. Now, he said, he is going all the way to retirement.

The brothers and their parents won't be separated so long this time. Drew is getting married in April to Melissa Donaldson, a Navy officer deployed aboard the USS Philippines Sea off the coast of Iraq.

The wedding will be in the Henry Ford Home in Dearborn, Mich.

After the honeymoon, both will be re-deployed. She will head for San Diego and Drew is sure he will be headed for some overseas assignment. His deployment days are far from finished.

David, the oldest, is headed back to Pensacola to continue his training job, taking with him his little girl, Alexia, 4, who had a chance this Christmas to meet her cousin, Daniel Jr.

The brothers say the Marine Corps is a small organization and they do run into each other from time to time. Two years do not always pass before there is a reunion, David said.

Each brother plans to stay with the Marine Corps. "When you go to work just to fly, who can complain," Drew said.

"We never have to worry about layoffs," Daniel added.

All four sons are graduates of Lexington High School. Since his wife's death, Daniel has been visiting with her family in Pensacola.

His mother, Delores, said she wanted to thank all the family friends in this area who called, sent cards or offered their support during Jennifer's illness.

rsimon@nncogannett.com

(419) 521-7230

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Originally published Thursday, December 25, 2003


http://www.mansfieldnewsjournal.com/news/stories/20031225/localnews/106947.html


Sempers,

Roger
:marine: