thedrifter
11-25-05, 06:05 AM
Families united, thanks to video
Reunions create holiday memories
By Rick Rogers
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
November 24, 2005
OCEANSIDE – The families arrived in fresh-scrubbed groups smelling of soap. Little girls with bows in flossy hair and boys with neat parts and collared shirts.
They looked like a Rockwellian Thanksgiving portrait waiting to happen.
One by one, the families entered a small room at FirstCommand Financial Planning and were greeted by their Marines via the magic of online video conferencing.
Long a tool for business, education and medical care, video conferencing was used yesterday to unite the families with their locally based troops now serving at Al Asad, a U.S. base in western Iraq.
"It was a little surreal at first," Angela Galaway said. She had come with three children younger than 7 in tow to see her husband, Staff Sgt. Jason Galaway, whose face was projected onto a large screen.
About a dozen troops from two helicopter squadrons stationed at Miramar Marine Corps Air Station were linked with their loved ones during 30-minute sessions held from 7 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
"With the holidays coming up, it's been really hard on the kids not having their father around," said Angela, 26, whose husband left for Iraq in July. "This just means so much to the kids and spouses – and the Marines. We all needed this."
That was the thinking of Gunnery Sgt. Michael Hanson and his wife, Toni. They discovered the power of video conferencing while struggling to deal with the loss of their 8-year-old son, who died in February 2004 after a long battle with leukemia.
When Michaeldeployed to Iraq from Camp Pendleton that April as an information technology specialist, he and Toni decided to use the communication channel to stay in touch.
The arrangement worked so well that Toni founded Operation America Cares, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that seeks to increase the number of video conferences between Marines in Iraq and their families throughout the United States. To do so, the group says it needs more businesses and people to donate space for the sessions and pay for the Internet data transmission, which are free for military families.
The Hansons also solicit money and items for care packages they send to U.S. troops overseas.
Yesterday's long-distance reunion was the first in Oceanside, and Operation America Cares plans to help create more holiday memories Dec. 4 with sessions at Camp Pendleton.
The group has done video conferencing in other parts of the nation. During one of its events, a Marine watched the birth of his son. Other sessions have enabled troops to watch baseball and football games with their families. In yet another case, a Marine "attended" church through the online connection.
For eight families nationwide, the video conferences were the last time they saw their Marines alive. At least 250 Marines from Camp Pendleton have died in Iraq, the most from any U.S. base.
Toni Hanson said Operation America Cares is about showing support for the troops regardless of people's political views and whether they can donate money.
"We have one woman who sings for the wounded" during the video conferencing sessions, she said. "Some people donate telephone cards. Do what you can."
In the long term, the Hansons want to develop video conferencing hubs in or around San Diego County's Marine Corps bases.
"Right now, we are trying to build awareness of video conferencing in Oceanside," Michael Hanson said. "We've been doing this in the Midwest for more than a year. I don't understand why this isn't catching on faster in San Diego, but my wife and I are dedicated to making this work here."
So far, two Marine bases in Iraq – the one in Al Asad and the other in Fallujah – are wired for the video feeds. The Hansons would like to establish such capability for a third Marine base in Iraq.
Although technology can reunite families living on opposite sides of the world, it cannot always turn on the word spigot during the video sessions.
Yesterday, some families at first seemed too choked with emotion to say anything of substance. Their conversations turned from chit-chat to uncomfortable moments of silence.
The Marines said little about what they were seeing, doing or feeling in Iraq. The barrel of an M-16 rifle occasionally appeared on the video screen, providing the only hint that these Marines were at war.
But the awkwardness soon melted. The desire to reconnect proved stronger than the discomfort from the video's slightly distorted images, the thinnish audio or the passage of time spent apart.
"He looked really good for where he is and what he's been doing," Rebekah Murphy said of her husband, Cpl. Josh Murphy, both 23. "Getting to do the teleconference is so much better than an e-mail or a telephone call because you can tell if they are OK by the tone in their voice. . . .
"The whole time, he kept asking me to stand up because he wanted to see the twins," she continued, chuckling while dabbing tears with a tissue.
The Murphys are expecting twins, a boy and a girl, in about a month.
"He kept telling me that having a family is the greatest thing in his life and how much he loves me and how he can't wait to get back home," Rebekah said. "And he had tears in his eyes, which is so unlike him because he is not emotional."
When their turn came, the Galaways walked into the darkened room at FirstCommand. Angela brought her daughter, Ashley, 18 months, and her stepchildren, 6-year-old Jordan and 4-year-old Claire.
Staff Sgt. Galaway, 28, looked down at them from the screen mounted on a wall.
The children had not been told of the teleconference and seemed confused about whether the image of their father was real.
"Daddy, Daddy," they finally squealed.
After the Galaways talked privately for about 30 minutes, Toni Hanson gently knocked on the door.
"I want to take a family portrait," Hanson said, arranging everyone so it looked as though Jason Galaway had his arms around his entire family.
Before signing off, the staff sergeant had a Thanksgiving message for people in San Diego County.
"Enjoy your families while you have them," he said, pausing to bite his lip. "You don't appreciate them until you are in a place like this."
Rick Rogers: (760) 476-8212; rick.rogers@uniontrib.com
Ellie
Reunions create holiday memories
By Rick Rogers
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
November 24, 2005
OCEANSIDE – The families arrived in fresh-scrubbed groups smelling of soap. Little girls with bows in flossy hair and boys with neat parts and collared shirts.
They looked like a Rockwellian Thanksgiving portrait waiting to happen.
One by one, the families entered a small room at FirstCommand Financial Planning and were greeted by their Marines via the magic of online video conferencing.
Long a tool for business, education and medical care, video conferencing was used yesterday to unite the families with their locally based troops now serving at Al Asad, a U.S. base in western Iraq.
"It was a little surreal at first," Angela Galaway said. She had come with three children younger than 7 in tow to see her husband, Staff Sgt. Jason Galaway, whose face was projected onto a large screen.
About a dozen troops from two helicopter squadrons stationed at Miramar Marine Corps Air Station were linked with their loved ones during 30-minute sessions held from 7 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
"With the holidays coming up, it's been really hard on the kids not having their father around," said Angela, 26, whose husband left for Iraq in July. "This just means so much to the kids and spouses – and the Marines. We all needed this."
That was the thinking of Gunnery Sgt. Michael Hanson and his wife, Toni. They discovered the power of video conferencing while struggling to deal with the loss of their 8-year-old son, who died in February 2004 after a long battle with leukemia.
When Michaeldeployed to Iraq from Camp Pendleton that April as an information technology specialist, he and Toni decided to use the communication channel to stay in touch.
The arrangement worked so well that Toni founded Operation America Cares, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that seeks to increase the number of video conferences between Marines in Iraq and their families throughout the United States. To do so, the group says it needs more businesses and people to donate space for the sessions and pay for the Internet data transmission, which are free for military families.
The Hansons also solicit money and items for care packages they send to U.S. troops overseas.
Yesterday's long-distance reunion was the first in Oceanside, and Operation America Cares plans to help create more holiday memories Dec. 4 with sessions at Camp Pendleton.
The group has done video conferencing in other parts of the nation. During one of its events, a Marine watched the birth of his son. Other sessions have enabled troops to watch baseball and football games with their families. In yet another case, a Marine "attended" church through the online connection.
For eight families nationwide, the video conferences were the last time they saw their Marines alive. At least 250 Marines from Camp Pendleton have died in Iraq, the most from any U.S. base.
Toni Hanson said Operation America Cares is about showing support for the troops regardless of people's political views and whether they can donate money.
"We have one woman who sings for the wounded" during the video conferencing sessions, she said. "Some people donate telephone cards. Do what you can."
In the long term, the Hansons want to develop video conferencing hubs in or around San Diego County's Marine Corps bases.
"Right now, we are trying to build awareness of video conferencing in Oceanside," Michael Hanson said. "We've been doing this in the Midwest for more than a year. I don't understand why this isn't catching on faster in San Diego, but my wife and I are dedicated to making this work here."
So far, two Marine bases in Iraq – the one in Al Asad and the other in Fallujah – are wired for the video feeds. The Hansons would like to establish such capability for a third Marine base in Iraq.
Although technology can reunite families living on opposite sides of the world, it cannot always turn on the word spigot during the video sessions.
Yesterday, some families at first seemed too choked with emotion to say anything of substance. Their conversations turned from chit-chat to uncomfortable moments of silence.
The Marines said little about what they were seeing, doing or feeling in Iraq. The barrel of an M-16 rifle occasionally appeared on the video screen, providing the only hint that these Marines were at war.
But the awkwardness soon melted. The desire to reconnect proved stronger than the discomfort from the video's slightly distorted images, the thinnish audio or the passage of time spent apart.
"He looked really good for where he is and what he's been doing," Rebekah Murphy said of her husband, Cpl. Josh Murphy, both 23. "Getting to do the teleconference is so much better than an e-mail or a telephone call because you can tell if they are OK by the tone in their voice. . . .
"The whole time, he kept asking me to stand up because he wanted to see the twins," she continued, chuckling while dabbing tears with a tissue.
The Murphys are expecting twins, a boy and a girl, in about a month.
"He kept telling me that having a family is the greatest thing in his life and how much he loves me and how he can't wait to get back home," Rebekah said. "And he had tears in his eyes, which is so unlike him because he is not emotional."
When their turn came, the Galaways walked into the darkened room at FirstCommand. Angela brought her daughter, Ashley, 18 months, and her stepchildren, 6-year-old Jordan and 4-year-old Claire.
Staff Sgt. Galaway, 28, looked down at them from the screen mounted on a wall.
The children had not been told of the teleconference and seemed confused about whether the image of their father was real.
"Daddy, Daddy," they finally squealed.
After the Galaways talked privately for about 30 minutes, Toni Hanson gently knocked on the door.
"I want to take a family portrait," Hanson said, arranging everyone so it looked as though Jason Galaway had his arms around his entire family.
Before signing off, the staff sergeant had a Thanksgiving message for people in San Diego County.
"Enjoy your families while you have them," he said, pausing to bite his lip. "You don't appreciate them until you are in a place like this."
Rick Rogers: (760) 476-8212; rick.rogers@uniontrib.com
Ellie