thedrifter
12-18-06, 08:16 AM
Iraq deployment for Dad saps Christmas cheer for Mattoon family, but Mom keeps traditions going for three boys
By HERB MEEKER - H&RStaff Writer
MATTOON - Buying a Christmas tree turned out to be a tough mission for Jenny Munro this year.
Normally, her husband Don helps pick out the right tree, but he couldn't come along.
He's with the Marines in Iraq this Christmas. He's on his second tour of duty with the Marine Reserve unit from Terre Haute, Ind., now assigned to the 1st Division, 24th Regiment. Munro, a veteran of the Mattoon Police Department, is expected back home in June. He initially served in Iraq during the first few months of 2003, including the invasion by coalition forces.
"The most horrible thing for me was buying a tree this year. I always go with Donny every year. I was going through the trees, and I started crying. I couldn't stop.
"I think the lady at the tree place thought I was having a nervous breakdown," Munro said with a smile.
Dozens of military wives and husbands don't have spouses home this Christmas in Central Illinois, including many with the Mattoon Illinois National Guard unit. Little reminders of the separation caused by military duty can spark strong emotions.
"This makes you realize how much you depend on them, the life you've built together and how much is missing since they're gone," she said.
For the most part, Jenny Munro has been holding up well this Christmas season. She has to because she and her husband have three boys: Trey, 13; Chase, 11; and Joey, 9.
"There was no chance at all of him coming home for Christmas. The Marines give orders, and that's it. We were prepared for him not to be here at Christmas, but in our family, Donny is Christmas. That's the really hard part," Jenny Munro said. "People will sometimes say to me, 'I don't know how you do it!' That drives me up the wall. I almost want to say to them, 'I didn't have a choice.' See, he was a Marine when I married him, and he let me know what was coming."
But it is different for her sons. She has noticed tears shed periodically by her boys when their thoughts turn to their father being gone. Chase, who is closest in personality to his father, has a great interest in military subjects and sometimes asks tough questions, his mother said.
But the Munro boys are pitching in to help their mother,too.
"They're helping with the chores and other things. They're great boys,' she said.
E-mails and periodic phone calls help keep the family bonds strong. The messages seem basic, but they are vital to a wife's peace of mind.
Here is a typical e-mail from Don Munro, dated Nov. 29, from his unit's military base in Fallujah, Iraq:
"Hey Honey,
It's a late one for me again, I do a little work, check email and then do work.
I started another letter to send, and should have it in the mail the next couple of days. I am glad the kids are enjoying their letters.I figure it is good for them to get something from me, not a carbon copy of each others.
Gotta go for a while, will check in a few.
Love ya, Donny"
"That's how I know he's OK. When he calls on the phone, it's for 30 minutes, and he talks to all of us, and the letters to the boys help, too," Jenny Munro said. The e-mails from Mattoon help the sergeant, as well.
But hearing is not the same as seeing, Jenny said.
"I wish we could see him during a call before Christmas with a video hookup somewhere," she said. "It would be the biggest Christmas wish for me."
She is also keeping the communications open between wives and parents of other Marines of Key Company as a support liaison.
"As a Key Wife, you're assigned three to five families. You get them information, and you're there if they need you. I have a couple of sets of parents in my group. This war is much harder on the parents of soldiers over there.
"Everybody handles it differently. It's all about whatever it takes to get you through."
Jenny Munro's in-laws will be in Mattoon for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. "We will try to keep it as normal as possible," she vowed.
But the presents purchased for Don Munro will not be mailed to Iraq. They will be opened when he comes home in June. Call it "Christmas in June." They will savor the gifts, food and other treasured traditions that day.
"We'll have a little tree, too," she said.
Herb Meeker can be reached at hmeeker@jg-tc.com or 238-6869.
Ellie
By HERB MEEKER - H&RStaff Writer
MATTOON - Buying a Christmas tree turned out to be a tough mission for Jenny Munro this year.
Normally, her husband Don helps pick out the right tree, but he couldn't come along.
He's with the Marines in Iraq this Christmas. He's on his second tour of duty with the Marine Reserve unit from Terre Haute, Ind., now assigned to the 1st Division, 24th Regiment. Munro, a veteran of the Mattoon Police Department, is expected back home in June. He initially served in Iraq during the first few months of 2003, including the invasion by coalition forces.
"The most horrible thing for me was buying a tree this year. I always go with Donny every year. I was going through the trees, and I started crying. I couldn't stop.
"I think the lady at the tree place thought I was having a nervous breakdown," Munro said with a smile.
Dozens of military wives and husbands don't have spouses home this Christmas in Central Illinois, including many with the Mattoon Illinois National Guard unit. Little reminders of the separation caused by military duty can spark strong emotions.
"This makes you realize how much you depend on them, the life you've built together and how much is missing since they're gone," she said.
For the most part, Jenny Munro has been holding up well this Christmas season. She has to because she and her husband have three boys: Trey, 13; Chase, 11; and Joey, 9.
"There was no chance at all of him coming home for Christmas. The Marines give orders, and that's it. We were prepared for him not to be here at Christmas, but in our family, Donny is Christmas. That's the really hard part," Jenny Munro said. "People will sometimes say to me, 'I don't know how you do it!' That drives me up the wall. I almost want to say to them, 'I didn't have a choice.' See, he was a Marine when I married him, and he let me know what was coming."
But it is different for her sons. She has noticed tears shed periodically by her boys when their thoughts turn to their father being gone. Chase, who is closest in personality to his father, has a great interest in military subjects and sometimes asks tough questions, his mother said.
But the Munro boys are pitching in to help their mother,too.
"They're helping with the chores and other things. They're great boys,' she said.
E-mails and periodic phone calls help keep the family bonds strong. The messages seem basic, but they are vital to a wife's peace of mind.
Here is a typical e-mail from Don Munro, dated Nov. 29, from his unit's military base in Fallujah, Iraq:
"Hey Honey,
It's a late one for me again, I do a little work, check email and then do work.
I started another letter to send, and should have it in the mail the next couple of days. I am glad the kids are enjoying their letters.I figure it is good for them to get something from me, not a carbon copy of each others.
Gotta go for a while, will check in a few.
Love ya, Donny"
"That's how I know he's OK. When he calls on the phone, it's for 30 minutes, and he talks to all of us, and the letters to the boys help, too," Jenny Munro said. The e-mails from Mattoon help the sergeant, as well.
But hearing is not the same as seeing, Jenny said.
"I wish we could see him during a call before Christmas with a video hookup somewhere," she said. "It would be the biggest Christmas wish for me."
She is also keeping the communications open between wives and parents of other Marines of Key Company as a support liaison.
"As a Key Wife, you're assigned three to five families. You get them information, and you're there if they need you. I have a couple of sets of parents in my group. This war is much harder on the parents of soldiers over there.
"Everybody handles it differently. It's all about whatever it takes to get you through."
Jenny Munro's in-laws will be in Mattoon for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. "We will try to keep it as normal as possible," she vowed.
But the presents purchased for Don Munro will not be mailed to Iraq. They will be opened when he comes home in June. Call it "Christmas in June." They will savor the gifts, food and other treasured traditions that day.
"We'll have a little tree, too," she said.
Herb Meeker can be reached at hmeeker@jg-tc.com or 238-6869.
Ellie