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View Full Version : Sen. Bond's son returns from year of duty in Iraq



thedrifter
03-16-06, 06:38 AM
Posted: Wednesday, Mar 15, 2006 - 06:25:24 pm CST
Sen. Bond's son returns from year of duty in Iraq

WASHINGTON (AP) - For his 67th birthday, Sen. Kit Bond got the best present a parent could ask for: His son, a Marine first lieutenant, returned home safely after a year in Iraq.

“I'm very happy to have him back,” the Missouri Republican said Tuesday of 25-year-old son Sam. “He's a lot more than a year older than he was when he went at 24,” he said.

Sam Bond came back to the United States earlier this month and was reunited with his dad in Washington on Thursday. For his father, there was pride and a great sense of relief.

“His coming back and letting me buy him dinner was the best birthday present I could have,” said Bond, who turned 67 on March 6.

The younger Bond served with a regimental combat team in Fallujah, gathering intelligence data and sharing reports with battlefield unit leaders.

While he was fortunate to avoid injury during his stint there, others close to him were not so lucky. In January, five Marines in his son's unit were killed in separate accidents. Another lieutenant working a different shift was wounded by shrapnel from an improvised explosive device.

“Certainly, when they're in the combat zone, any parent who isn't concerned about him, doesn't pray for him every night, doesn't worry about him every day - I wouldn't understand it,” Bond said.

Sam Bond was still a college student at Princeton University when his father voted in the Senate to authorize the war in Iraq. A member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, Bond remains steadfast in his support for the war effort and said his son feels the same.

“I got from him and from the other Marines their absolute horror and opposition to an immediate pullout or setting a timetable for withdrawal,” Kit Bond said.

Bond's son is now back at Camp Lejeune, N.C., after catching up on his sleep and visiting with old friends. He's not sure where his son will be sent next, but Bond said his son wants to join a combat platoon or a scout sniper platoon after more training.

Ellie