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thedrifter
12-25-05, 09:04 AM
Smith: Duty scatters family
Susan Lampert Smithssmith@madison.com
December 24, 2005
Not everyone can make it home for Christmas.

There will be three empty chairs at Joe and Lou Ann Ward's home in Baraboo today.

Joe's son, Sgt. Maj. Bryan Ward, is in Iraq for the holidays, serving his third tour of Iraq duty with the Marines.

"I just got an e-mail from him, he's back from patrol for a few days," Joe Ward says.

Lou Ann Ward's son, Lt. Col. Mark Hirschinger, is at Fort Hood in Texas, after serving in Iraq and in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. The third chair belongs to Joe's son Jody Ward, assistant police chief in Wisconsin Dells, who is also on duty today.

Joe Ward says he's proud, and wants people to know about their service. Lou Ann Ward says that after 18 years as a military mom, she's used to Christmas without her son, but that doesn't mean she likes it. Still, she laughs when she recalls her son's first Christmas away, after he graduated from the ROTC program at Ripon College.

"He was stationed in Korea that year, and I sat in front of the Christmas tree and cried my eyes out," she said. A few weeks later, a letter and photo arrived showing how Mark had spent Christmas.

"He was with the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders," she said. "His job was to fly them around Korea, and he had a big grin on his face."

Tina Schlueter couldn't make it to her East Side home for Christmas Eve, either. She'll probably make it today - with a smile on her face and carrying a very good excuse.

Tina and Bart Schlueter welcomed their 10th child, a baby girl named Rose, into the family on Friday morning.

Bart planned to bring the nine older children to St. Mary's Hospital for Christmas Eve Mass in the chapel. Then they were all going to squeeze into mom's room for a meal catered by the hospital.

Bart Schlueter said the other kids - Philip, Nicholas, Benjamin, Abraham, Sebastian, Bernard, Cyril, Lydia and Claire - range in age from 18 to 2, and were excited about their new baby sister.

Having a baby so close to Christmas, Bart Schlueter said, "reminds us to count our blessings."

"Tina and I haven't done this alone," he said. "We've been blessed by so many good people along the way. Whether it's co-workers leaving bags of hand-me-downs or hands that reach out across the pew (at St. Dennis Catholic Church) and take a crying baby from us, there have been a whole bunch of miracles."

Schlueter says that after three or four kids, "what's one more crayon drawing on the walls or a few more Cheerios stuck to the van seat?"

Besides, in this season of miracles, he sees a small, beautiful one when he cradles Rose.

"I think it's God's sign that there is good in the world, and that he wants it to go on," he said.

I can't say it better.

If you're lucky enough to be with those you love today, spare a good thought for those who can't be.

Ellie