thedrifter
09-03-05, 07:33 AM
Marine balances call of duty, family
Conklin man gets break after two tours in Iraq
BY ANDREI GURUIANU
Press & Sun-Bulletin
CONKLIN -- Michelle Blackledge woke up the morning of July 4 with a swollen right eye, although there was no apparent reason for it. She would later find out that her husband, Sgt. Horace T. Blackledge III, suffered an eye injury the same day when his unit encountered enemy fire in Iraq.
This was the second tour of duty in Iraq for 26-year-old "Chuck" Blackledge of Conklin, and the second time he's been injured. His first close call in Iraq took place on Father's Day 2003, when the truck he was riding in was involved in an accident that led to an arm injury and knocked him unconscious. But neither of his injuries were enough to take away from his love of the Marine Corps.
"He likes his job and he loves what he's doing," said Michelle Blackledge, 24, a native of North Carolina. "If he could be guaranteed non-deployment, he would definitely re-enlist."
That doesn't mean that Chuck Blackledge -- the father of two girls, ages 6 and 3 -- doesn't miss his family or regret not being there for important occasions, such as birthdays.
"I want to wake up to my girls and make them breakfast, and bring my wife hers in bed like every other weekend when I was home. That is what I miss," he wrote in an e-mail from Iraq.
Chuck Blackledge got his wish Friday, when he arrived at Binghamton Regional Airport. He'll be home for four days before leaving for North Carolina, where he will be stationed until November 2006.
But his family wouldn't be surprised if he chose to remain a Marine after his current term expires.
"He waited to tell us he joined the Marines until after he signed up," said his step-father, Dan Wilson, 46, of Conklin. "I said, 'Why do you want to join the Marines? They're the first ones in.'"
Although kept a secret at first, Blackledge's choice to become a Marine didn't surprise his mother, Deborah Wilson, 46, of Conklin.
"He wants to be the best and toughest at anything he does, and that was always their motto, 'We want the best,'" she said.
Deborah Wilson is a U.S. Navy veteran and believes the military has a lot to offer young men and women coming out of high school. The Marines provided Chuck Blackledge with some direction after he graduated from Susquehanna Valley High School in 1998, and helped forge close bonds with fellow soldiers whom he calls his "brothers."
"My first day in boot camp was Oct. 24, 1999. I remember joining because my life was heading in the wrong direction," Blackledge wrote in another e-mail. "I was running the streets doing drugs and not giving a damn. It really had no meaning, and no matter what my parents tried, it just wouldn't sink in. A buddy of mine joined and so did I."
Now, Blackledge has the Marines and a family to look forward to, and his wife said it's definitely helped him settle down. But as much as he likes military life, Blackledge can't help but be drawn back to his daughters and wife of four years.
"She never knew, but I would just stand there and look at her for like five minutes before I woke her to say goodbye; she looked so peaceful," Blackledge said. "Now, all I wake to is a snoring roommate whose boots smell like a bag of rotten apples."
Ellie
Conklin man gets break after two tours in Iraq
BY ANDREI GURUIANU
Press & Sun-Bulletin
CONKLIN -- Michelle Blackledge woke up the morning of July 4 with a swollen right eye, although there was no apparent reason for it. She would later find out that her husband, Sgt. Horace T. Blackledge III, suffered an eye injury the same day when his unit encountered enemy fire in Iraq.
This was the second tour of duty in Iraq for 26-year-old "Chuck" Blackledge of Conklin, and the second time he's been injured. His first close call in Iraq took place on Father's Day 2003, when the truck he was riding in was involved in an accident that led to an arm injury and knocked him unconscious. But neither of his injuries were enough to take away from his love of the Marine Corps.
"He likes his job and he loves what he's doing," said Michelle Blackledge, 24, a native of North Carolina. "If he could be guaranteed non-deployment, he would definitely re-enlist."
That doesn't mean that Chuck Blackledge -- the father of two girls, ages 6 and 3 -- doesn't miss his family or regret not being there for important occasions, such as birthdays.
"I want to wake up to my girls and make them breakfast, and bring my wife hers in bed like every other weekend when I was home. That is what I miss," he wrote in an e-mail from Iraq.
Chuck Blackledge got his wish Friday, when he arrived at Binghamton Regional Airport. He'll be home for four days before leaving for North Carolina, where he will be stationed until November 2006.
But his family wouldn't be surprised if he chose to remain a Marine after his current term expires.
"He waited to tell us he joined the Marines until after he signed up," said his step-father, Dan Wilson, 46, of Conklin. "I said, 'Why do you want to join the Marines? They're the first ones in.'"
Although kept a secret at first, Blackledge's choice to become a Marine didn't surprise his mother, Deborah Wilson, 46, of Conklin.
"He wants to be the best and toughest at anything he does, and that was always their motto, 'We want the best,'" she said.
Deborah Wilson is a U.S. Navy veteran and believes the military has a lot to offer young men and women coming out of high school. The Marines provided Chuck Blackledge with some direction after he graduated from Susquehanna Valley High School in 1998, and helped forge close bonds with fellow soldiers whom he calls his "brothers."
"My first day in boot camp was Oct. 24, 1999. I remember joining because my life was heading in the wrong direction," Blackledge wrote in another e-mail. "I was running the streets doing drugs and not giving a damn. It really had no meaning, and no matter what my parents tried, it just wouldn't sink in. A buddy of mine joined and so did I."
Now, Blackledge has the Marines and a family to look forward to, and his wife said it's definitely helped him settle down. But as much as he likes military life, Blackledge can't help but be drawn back to his daughters and wife of four years.
"She never knew, but I would just stand there and look at her for like five minutes before I woke her to say goodbye; she looked so peaceful," Blackledge said. "Now, all I wake to is a snoring roommate whose boots smell like a bag of rotten apples."
Ellie