thedrifter
01-17-07, 07:21 AM
Son shipped to Iraq on 19th birthday
By: Alexandra Hackett
Port Richey, Florida - Families don't get much tighter than the Banters. Bob and Tracy married at age 17. 20 years and four kids later, they are bracing for an agonizing road ahead. Their oldest, Anthony, is going to Iraq.
"This is going to be the worst 7 months of our lives." said Bob.
Anthony always idolized the Marines. He left for boot camp only days after graduating Ridgewood High School in May.
"I am proud of him, very proud of my son and what he is doing," said Tracy.
His time away has already torn at their hearts.
"It feels like the family is never going to be the same," said his teary-eyed sister Cassandra.
She poured her emotions into a simple poem.
For the last two months, Anthony has been stationed in Japan. It’s far, but Bob and Tracy figured it was better than Iraq. As parents they want to protect their son.
"We got the phone call 6 days ago that our son is leaving to go to Iraq on his birthday his 19th birthday, just out of high school."
They realize now his life is out of their hands. Today, Anthony is shipping out to Anbar province, a hotbed for Sunni insurgents and Al-Qaida fighters.
"I hope George Bush is right with what he is doing. I hope he is making the right decision," Bob said.
Instead of blowing out birthday candles in Port Richey, Lance Corporal Anthony Banter will soon be working as a gunner on a seven-ton truck in the desert.
"The decision he made makes him a man now,” Tracy said. “That makes us proud to say he's our son"
The Banters don't have a home computer so the only way they can communicate with their son is through letters and waiting for a phone call.
They expect he will be deployed for seven months but it could be longer.
Alexandra Hackett, Tampa Bay's 10 News
Ellie
By: Alexandra Hackett
Port Richey, Florida - Families don't get much tighter than the Banters. Bob and Tracy married at age 17. 20 years and four kids later, they are bracing for an agonizing road ahead. Their oldest, Anthony, is going to Iraq.
"This is going to be the worst 7 months of our lives." said Bob.
Anthony always idolized the Marines. He left for boot camp only days after graduating Ridgewood High School in May.
"I am proud of him, very proud of my son and what he is doing," said Tracy.
His time away has already torn at their hearts.
"It feels like the family is never going to be the same," said his teary-eyed sister Cassandra.
She poured her emotions into a simple poem.
For the last two months, Anthony has been stationed in Japan. It’s far, but Bob and Tracy figured it was better than Iraq. As parents they want to protect their son.
"We got the phone call 6 days ago that our son is leaving to go to Iraq on his birthday his 19th birthday, just out of high school."
They realize now his life is out of their hands. Today, Anthony is shipping out to Anbar province, a hotbed for Sunni insurgents and Al-Qaida fighters.
"I hope George Bush is right with what he is doing. I hope he is making the right decision," Bob said.
Instead of blowing out birthday candles in Port Richey, Lance Corporal Anthony Banter will soon be working as a gunner on a seven-ton truck in the desert.
"The decision he made makes him a man now,” Tracy said. “That makes us proud to say he's our son"
The Banters don't have a home computer so the only way they can communicate with their son is through letters and waiting for a phone call.
They expect he will be deployed for seven months but it could be longer.
Alexandra Hackett, Tampa Bay's 10 News
Ellie