thedrifter
09-13-06, 06:09 PM
Heritage of duty
Simultaneously, father and son from Dorchester answered call in Iraq
By Brian R. Ballou, Globe Staff | September 13, 2006
Strolling along Nantasket Beach, near the stretch of water where they floated side by side on gentle waves almost two decades ago, George MacMasters stole glimpses of his 24-year-old son's hands.
``I didn't want him to see me looking at his hands, but he caught me a few times," said MacMasters, 49. Andrew MacMasters's hands were burned and scarred in Iraq, where the Dorchester father and son fought simultaneously last fall.
The two men were drawn to the military by a family legacy, but were also spurred to join because of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. They both signed up soon after, and both were sent to Iraq last year, the father from Mississippi, the son from North Carolina.
Military officials said yesterday there have been fewer than 10 cases of a parent and child deployed at the same time in combat zones in the past two years.
Last fall, the MacMasterses served in different units about 15 miles apart in the Sunni Triangle, one of Iraq's most deadly areas. The son commanded a Marine amphibious assault vehicle crew in Fallujah . The father helped train Iraqi police officers in Ramadi.
The stress of having their son and grandson in the thick of combat -- where bullets, roadside bombs, and suicide attacks are commonplace -- was overwhelming, said George MacMaster Sr. and his wife, Mary, both 79, who also live in Dorchester. (They dropped the s from their family name.)
``At one time, we had three churches praying for their safety," said Mary MacMaster. ``George would call home and say, `Don't worry, everything is fine.' But we knew things were really bad over there."
George MacMaster said, ``It was tough to not think about it all the time because you hear so much on the news and from other people. Every day was a challenge, but they both are very capable, good soldiers."
Andrew MacMasters, one of two sons, graduated from Catholic Memorial School in West Roxbury in 2001. Three months later, as he sat in front of a television and watched the World Trade Center towers collapse, he decided to join the Marines.
``I had been thinking about going in the military because my dad was in and my grandfather was in, too. When the attacks happened, I decided it was time, so I signed up," Andrew MacMasters said yesterday from a military hospital in Texas.
A year later, he was in boot camp at Camp Lejeune, N.C., and last September, he arrived in Iraq with the Second Marine Division, manning a .50-caliber machine gun and grenade launcher atop an amphibious assault vehicle.
George MacMasters entered the Marines 30 years ago and retired in 1986. An avid swimmer who once crossed the English Channel, he became the coordinator for Harvard University's aquatic centers. Life was leisurely; he studied Arabic and swam in exotic places. He was wading in the Caspian Sea when terrorists struck the United States on Sept. 11.
`I thought I should be in the military, but when I came back and went to the Marines, they just sort of laughed and told me I was a bit too old, so I went to the National Guard," said MacMasters, who is divorced from Andrew's mother . ``It took a while, because they wanted to make sure I was able to handle it physically. I was 45 then."
By June 2005, he was with an Army National Guard unit in Ramadi. ``I had a front-row seat to the war," he said. ``We were in the middle of several major attacks."
As dangerous as Ramadi was, fighting was more intense in Fallujah. Andrew MacMasters was pulling 12-hour security patrols on the outskirts of that volatile city. The referendum on a new constitution was days away, and a show of force was needed to convince wary Iraqis that they had safe passage to voting booths.
Preparation for the election kept father and son busy, making it impossible for them to ever meet in Iraq, or even directly communicate. They kept in touch through relatives in Dorchester.
On Oct. 12, the younger MacMasters was sitting in the gun turret of his four-man assault vehicle. One hundred yards ahead and behind were similar Marine vehicles. ``It was a quiet day -- it had been quiet for a couple of days," he recalled.
A white sedan pulled off the road 50 feet in front of the convoy. When MacMasters passed the car, he locked his eyes on the driver, whose hands were on the steering wheel. ``He looked like he was out for a Sunday drive, but we locked eyes for about 20 seconds. As soon as my eyes left his, the car was detonated."
MacMasters said he ducked his head into the assault vehicle, but the force of the blast had already blown his helmet off: Several pieces of shrapnel lodged in his head and part of his ear was gone. He struggled to get his arms down. After dropping into the vehicle, he saw the pinkie on his left hand dangling by a small piece of skin. He stared at his hands as the skin ``melted off."
He was evacuated and eventually was sent to Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, which has a renowned burn center. Doctors amputated the tip of his left pinkie and grafted skin from his legs onto his hands.
For several months, he has been learning how to use his reconstructed hands. He said his rehabilitation is going fine, that he is building up enough strength to grip things again. He may enroll in college, or he could stay in the Marines.
George MacMasters left active duty on Aug. 1 and plans to return to his job at Harvard in the coming weeks.
On a days long convalescent leave last month, the son returned to Boston and saw his father for the first time since the early days at Brooke. Just as he and his father had done when he was a young boy, they floated out on the waves.
``And then we walked and enjoyed the sunshine," George MacMasters said. ``It's so much different here, not having to watch out for approaching vehicles or snipers on rooftops."
Brian R. Ballou can be reached at bballou@globe.com
Ellie
Simultaneously, father and son from Dorchester answered call in Iraq
By Brian R. Ballou, Globe Staff | September 13, 2006
Strolling along Nantasket Beach, near the stretch of water where they floated side by side on gentle waves almost two decades ago, George MacMasters stole glimpses of his 24-year-old son's hands.
``I didn't want him to see me looking at his hands, but he caught me a few times," said MacMasters, 49. Andrew MacMasters's hands were burned and scarred in Iraq, where the Dorchester father and son fought simultaneously last fall.
The two men were drawn to the military by a family legacy, but were also spurred to join because of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. They both signed up soon after, and both were sent to Iraq last year, the father from Mississippi, the son from North Carolina.
Military officials said yesterday there have been fewer than 10 cases of a parent and child deployed at the same time in combat zones in the past two years.
Last fall, the MacMasterses served in different units about 15 miles apart in the Sunni Triangle, one of Iraq's most deadly areas. The son commanded a Marine amphibious assault vehicle crew in Fallujah . The father helped train Iraqi police officers in Ramadi.
The stress of having their son and grandson in the thick of combat -- where bullets, roadside bombs, and suicide attacks are commonplace -- was overwhelming, said George MacMaster Sr. and his wife, Mary, both 79, who also live in Dorchester. (They dropped the s from their family name.)
``At one time, we had three churches praying for their safety," said Mary MacMaster. ``George would call home and say, `Don't worry, everything is fine.' But we knew things were really bad over there."
George MacMaster said, ``It was tough to not think about it all the time because you hear so much on the news and from other people. Every day was a challenge, but they both are very capable, good soldiers."
Andrew MacMasters, one of two sons, graduated from Catholic Memorial School in West Roxbury in 2001. Three months later, as he sat in front of a television and watched the World Trade Center towers collapse, he decided to join the Marines.
``I had been thinking about going in the military because my dad was in and my grandfather was in, too. When the attacks happened, I decided it was time, so I signed up," Andrew MacMasters said yesterday from a military hospital in Texas.
A year later, he was in boot camp at Camp Lejeune, N.C., and last September, he arrived in Iraq with the Second Marine Division, manning a .50-caliber machine gun and grenade launcher atop an amphibious assault vehicle.
George MacMasters entered the Marines 30 years ago and retired in 1986. An avid swimmer who once crossed the English Channel, he became the coordinator for Harvard University's aquatic centers. Life was leisurely; he studied Arabic and swam in exotic places. He was wading in the Caspian Sea when terrorists struck the United States on Sept. 11.
`I thought I should be in the military, but when I came back and went to the Marines, they just sort of laughed and told me I was a bit too old, so I went to the National Guard," said MacMasters, who is divorced from Andrew's mother . ``It took a while, because they wanted to make sure I was able to handle it physically. I was 45 then."
By June 2005, he was with an Army National Guard unit in Ramadi. ``I had a front-row seat to the war," he said. ``We were in the middle of several major attacks."
As dangerous as Ramadi was, fighting was more intense in Fallujah. Andrew MacMasters was pulling 12-hour security patrols on the outskirts of that volatile city. The referendum on a new constitution was days away, and a show of force was needed to convince wary Iraqis that they had safe passage to voting booths.
Preparation for the election kept father and son busy, making it impossible for them to ever meet in Iraq, or even directly communicate. They kept in touch through relatives in Dorchester.
On Oct. 12, the younger MacMasters was sitting in the gun turret of his four-man assault vehicle. One hundred yards ahead and behind were similar Marine vehicles. ``It was a quiet day -- it had been quiet for a couple of days," he recalled.
A white sedan pulled off the road 50 feet in front of the convoy. When MacMasters passed the car, he locked his eyes on the driver, whose hands were on the steering wheel. ``He looked like he was out for a Sunday drive, but we locked eyes for about 20 seconds. As soon as my eyes left his, the car was detonated."
MacMasters said he ducked his head into the assault vehicle, but the force of the blast had already blown his helmet off: Several pieces of shrapnel lodged in his head and part of his ear was gone. He struggled to get his arms down. After dropping into the vehicle, he saw the pinkie on his left hand dangling by a small piece of skin. He stared at his hands as the skin ``melted off."
He was evacuated and eventually was sent to Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, which has a renowned burn center. Doctors amputated the tip of his left pinkie and grafted skin from his legs onto his hands.
For several months, he has been learning how to use his reconstructed hands. He said his rehabilitation is going fine, that he is building up enough strength to grip things again. He may enroll in college, or he could stay in the Marines.
George MacMasters left active duty on Aug. 1 and plans to return to his job at Harvard in the coming weeks.
On a days long convalescent leave last month, the son returned to Boston and saw his father for the first time since the early days at Brooke. Just as he and his father had done when he was a young boy, they floated out on the waves.
``And then we walked and enjoyed the sunshine," George MacMasters said. ``It's so much different here, not having to watch out for approaching vehicles or snipers on rooftops."
Brian R. Ballou can be reached at bballou@globe.com
Ellie