thedrifter
09-19-05, 05:34 AM
Nervous farewells
September 19,2005
BY DIANE MOUSKOURIE View stories by reporter
DAILY NEWS STAFF
Courtney Morris clung tightly to Pfc. Scott Gliosca, wiping her tears on his shoulder.
Morris, 19, flew to Jacksonville from Niskayuna, N.Y. on Friday just so she could kiss her sweetheart of two years goodbye, she said.
"I'm scared he won't come back," Morris said. "It's an awful feeling to know that someone you love is leaving you, and you don't know what they will face."
Gliosca, 20, was one of about 200 Marines with the 2nd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment who left Camp Lejeune on Sunday. They are being sent to Iraq's Al Anbar province, according to 2nd Lt. Shawn Mercer, a spokesman for the 2nd Marine Division.
"They will support the division's operations to disrupt the insurgent activity, which has been developing strongholds within remote cities of western Iraq," Mercer said.
This deployment is a first for many of the young Marines. Still others are on their second or third tour in Iraq.
Several family members shared their worst fears as they said goodbye. With a key referendum still ahead, and ousted dictator Saddam Hussein's trial still forthcoming, Morris said she worries more American lives will be lost.
"It's just real scary," she said.
Cpl. Raymond Barnett said he's ready for his second deployment to Iraq - but that he'll be thinking a lot about home while he's there.
"Everything is so different going over there this time," said Barnett, 24. "There's a little more action, and I have a 9-month-old son this time."
This is the second Iraq deployment also for Navy Corpsman Brian Sloan. It will, however, be his first actually on the ground there. During the first part of the war, Sloan was stationed aboard a ship, he said.
He's left his wife and three kids at home in Maine. This deployment, he said, is "a necessary evil."
"I didn't join the Peace Corps," Sloan said. "I joined the peace-making Corps."
As they waited to leave Camp Lejeune, others said they're already ready to get it over.
Staff Sgt. Ricky Roseberry is on his third go-round to Iraq. His wife, Kelly, and their two daughters, Zoey, 2, and Morgan, 10, tried to hold back their tears. But as the buses left the parking lot, out they came.
"The sooner they leave, the sooner they get back," Kelly Roseberry said before giving her husband a final hug and kiss.
For some families this deployment is one of too many.
Despite what some people might think it doesn't get easier, said Monica Sanford. She was there to see off her husband, Lt. Col. David Sanford. They've been married 16 years.
"We've been through this a lot," Sanford said, pointing to her kids Michael and Ruby. "It never gets any easier.
"This time the kids understand more, and the time frame is longer (six or seven months)."
Sanford looked at the large crowd of families and the Marines lining up to board the buses.
"They all look like babies, and here they are with little families," she said. "I just hope they all come home safe."
Contact Diane Mouskourie at dmouskourie@freedomenc.com or 353-1171, Ext. 235.
Ellie
September 19,2005
BY DIANE MOUSKOURIE View stories by reporter
DAILY NEWS STAFF
Courtney Morris clung tightly to Pfc. Scott Gliosca, wiping her tears on his shoulder.
Morris, 19, flew to Jacksonville from Niskayuna, N.Y. on Friday just so she could kiss her sweetheart of two years goodbye, she said.
"I'm scared he won't come back," Morris said. "It's an awful feeling to know that someone you love is leaving you, and you don't know what they will face."
Gliosca, 20, was one of about 200 Marines with the 2nd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment who left Camp Lejeune on Sunday. They are being sent to Iraq's Al Anbar province, according to 2nd Lt. Shawn Mercer, a spokesman for the 2nd Marine Division.
"They will support the division's operations to disrupt the insurgent activity, which has been developing strongholds within remote cities of western Iraq," Mercer said.
This deployment is a first for many of the young Marines. Still others are on their second or third tour in Iraq.
Several family members shared their worst fears as they said goodbye. With a key referendum still ahead, and ousted dictator Saddam Hussein's trial still forthcoming, Morris said she worries more American lives will be lost.
"It's just real scary," she said.
Cpl. Raymond Barnett said he's ready for his second deployment to Iraq - but that he'll be thinking a lot about home while he's there.
"Everything is so different going over there this time," said Barnett, 24. "There's a little more action, and I have a 9-month-old son this time."
This is the second Iraq deployment also for Navy Corpsman Brian Sloan. It will, however, be his first actually on the ground there. During the first part of the war, Sloan was stationed aboard a ship, he said.
He's left his wife and three kids at home in Maine. This deployment, he said, is "a necessary evil."
"I didn't join the Peace Corps," Sloan said. "I joined the peace-making Corps."
As they waited to leave Camp Lejeune, others said they're already ready to get it over.
Staff Sgt. Ricky Roseberry is on his third go-round to Iraq. His wife, Kelly, and their two daughters, Zoey, 2, and Morgan, 10, tried to hold back their tears. But as the buses left the parking lot, out they came.
"The sooner they leave, the sooner they get back," Kelly Roseberry said before giving her husband a final hug and kiss.
For some families this deployment is one of too many.
Despite what some people might think it doesn't get easier, said Monica Sanford. She was there to see off her husband, Lt. Col. David Sanford. They've been married 16 years.
"We've been through this a lot," Sanford said, pointing to her kids Michael and Ruby. "It never gets any easier.
"This time the kids understand more, and the time frame is longer (six or seven months)."
Sanford looked at the large crowd of families and the Marines lining up to board the buses.
"They all look like babies, and here they are with little families," she said. "I just hope they all come home safe."
Contact Diane Mouskourie at dmouskourie@freedomenc.com or 353-1171, Ext. 235.
Ellie