thedrifter
02-13-07, 06:40 AM
Into a son’s arms
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
SPORTS SPOTLIGHT
TODD PORTER
JACKSON TWP.
They’re in the midst of finding a new football coach at Jackson High School. Defensive coordinator Al Checca, long considered head coaching material, is in the thick of things.
Until last week, it was a stressful process. It can bring with it pressure and anxiety.
That is when Checca got a dose of reality and a shot of perspective.
The call from his son, Rocky, came after the worst day Rocky has had in two tours of duty in Iraq. Rocky Checca is a captain in the United States Marine Corps. He flies one of the military’s largest helicopters, a CH-46, usually used in casualty evacuations.
Checca flies with the Purple Foxes, a squadron that dates to before the Vietnam War. His unit hasn’t suffered casualties that have hit close to home.
Until last week.
Marine Capt. Jennifer Harris, 28, flew her last mission in Iraq last Wednesday. It was her third tour there. She had her mission switched from a night to a daylight operation.
“She wanted to do a day flight because she wanted to do a casualty evacuation,” Al Checca said. “It was her last flight, and she wanted to do something good for somebody.”
Harris’ CH-46E went down northeast of Fallujah. An Al-Qaida insurgency group claimed responsibility and posted a cell-phone video of her crash. U.S. military officials have been slow to confirm the CH-46E was shot down.
Aboard the flight was Marine 1st Lt. Jared Landaker. He was one of Rocky Checca’s closest friends. Harris’ call name was “Attila.” Landaker’s was “Motorboat.”
Harris and Checca had made plans to be together during their first 96 hours of free time in the U.S., which would have been this week.
Checca described his flight missions in 2005 to The Repository like this: “It’s like swimming with the sharks. One moment, you’re splashing, laughing and having fun in the ocean. The next minute, your legs have been bitten off. You have to have your head in the game every minute, every day. All it takes is one guy sitting on a rooftop with an RPG.”
Checca e-mailed two pictures this weekend. His heart heavy, his thoughts racing worlds away with Capt. Harris’ family in Massachusetts.
“Both were KIA Feb. 7, 2007 flying a casualty-evacuation mission northeast of Fallujah,” Checca wrote. “Please keep them and their families in your prayers. It hurts really bad, and they will both be sorely missed. Rock.”
JOINING THEIR SON
Rocky’s commanding officer canceled Checca’s last two missions last week. He is en route to Camp Pendleton, his home base in California.
Al and Donna Checca will be there Wednesday. They do not want their son spending his first few days alone when he arrives Thursday.
Being named head coach at Jackson High School is the last thing on Checca’s mind now.
He wants to hug his son this week, the first time in more than seven months he’s been able to do so.
“ ... With all due respect, this job here is the last thing on my mind right now,” said Checca, one of five finalists for the position. “I wasn’t even sure I wanted to go through with it, then my wife, Donna, talked some sense into me. ... Rocky wouldn’t want me to drop out.”
Checca likely will interview today, then leave Wednesday for California.
“We need to be there for him,” Al said. “As a parent, you feel so helpless. You can’t do anything for the heartache he has now. There’s nothing more important than your kids. We think about those other families who have lost a son or a daughter, a husband or a wife.”
ANNAPOLIS GRADUATE
Rocky Checca, like Jennifer, graduated from Annapolis. He graduated from the Naval Academy in 2002 and was commissioned as an officer in the Marines.
Marines take the best and brightest to fly the CH-46E Sea Knights. It’s 83 feet long and weighs 24,000 pounds.
Rocky’s heart aches. His mother and father haven’t been able to do much about it since he left last summer.
“There will be times when he’d call three times in a month and other times when he can’t call at all,” Al said. “There have been times when we’ll get e-mails for three, four days in a row, then go two or three weeks without getting anything. It depends on when he has time.”
Rocky’s unit is stationed near the Sunni Triangle near Fallujah. It’s where insurgent car bombs have been the deadliest. Cas-evacs missions are routine, and they’re getting more dangerous. The Purple Foxes say they pick up the injured and the angels.
Last week a couple of Checca’s friends became angels.
“Rocky is very strong-willed and tough-minded,” his father said. “Right now, his psyche is somewhat fragile. It’s a tough time for us all. It’s a very difficult time for Jenn’s family.”
Iraq is a messy place. Checca believes in the mission, his father said. He always has, but he’s always said it was going to get worse before it gets better.
“He always says those guys over there aren’t stupid,” Al said. “They’re sophisticated in terms of what they do.”
Rocky’s head is always in the game in Iraq. It’s time to decompress from 7 1/2 long, hard, brutal months. His mom and dad know where they belong.
In their son’s arms.
Reach Repository sports writer Todd Porter at (330) 580-8340 or e-mail: todd.porter@cantonrep.com
Ellie
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
SPORTS SPOTLIGHT
TODD PORTER
JACKSON TWP.
They’re in the midst of finding a new football coach at Jackson High School. Defensive coordinator Al Checca, long considered head coaching material, is in the thick of things.
Until last week, it was a stressful process. It can bring with it pressure and anxiety.
That is when Checca got a dose of reality and a shot of perspective.
The call from his son, Rocky, came after the worst day Rocky has had in two tours of duty in Iraq. Rocky Checca is a captain in the United States Marine Corps. He flies one of the military’s largest helicopters, a CH-46, usually used in casualty evacuations.
Checca flies with the Purple Foxes, a squadron that dates to before the Vietnam War. His unit hasn’t suffered casualties that have hit close to home.
Until last week.
Marine Capt. Jennifer Harris, 28, flew her last mission in Iraq last Wednesday. It was her third tour there. She had her mission switched from a night to a daylight operation.
“She wanted to do a day flight because she wanted to do a casualty evacuation,” Al Checca said. “It was her last flight, and she wanted to do something good for somebody.”
Harris’ CH-46E went down northeast of Fallujah. An Al-Qaida insurgency group claimed responsibility and posted a cell-phone video of her crash. U.S. military officials have been slow to confirm the CH-46E was shot down.
Aboard the flight was Marine 1st Lt. Jared Landaker. He was one of Rocky Checca’s closest friends. Harris’ call name was “Attila.” Landaker’s was “Motorboat.”
Harris and Checca had made plans to be together during their first 96 hours of free time in the U.S., which would have been this week.
Checca described his flight missions in 2005 to The Repository like this: “It’s like swimming with the sharks. One moment, you’re splashing, laughing and having fun in the ocean. The next minute, your legs have been bitten off. You have to have your head in the game every minute, every day. All it takes is one guy sitting on a rooftop with an RPG.”
Checca e-mailed two pictures this weekend. His heart heavy, his thoughts racing worlds away with Capt. Harris’ family in Massachusetts.
“Both were KIA Feb. 7, 2007 flying a casualty-evacuation mission northeast of Fallujah,” Checca wrote. “Please keep them and their families in your prayers. It hurts really bad, and they will both be sorely missed. Rock.”
JOINING THEIR SON
Rocky’s commanding officer canceled Checca’s last two missions last week. He is en route to Camp Pendleton, his home base in California.
Al and Donna Checca will be there Wednesday. They do not want their son spending his first few days alone when he arrives Thursday.
Being named head coach at Jackson High School is the last thing on Checca’s mind now.
He wants to hug his son this week, the first time in more than seven months he’s been able to do so.
“ ... With all due respect, this job here is the last thing on my mind right now,” said Checca, one of five finalists for the position. “I wasn’t even sure I wanted to go through with it, then my wife, Donna, talked some sense into me. ... Rocky wouldn’t want me to drop out.”
Checca likely will interview today, then leave Wednesday for California.
“We need to be there for him,” Al said. “As a parent, you feel so helpless. You can’t do anything for the heartache he has now. There’s nothing more important than your kids. We think about those other families who have lost a son or a daughter, a husband or a wife.”
ANNAPOLIS GRADUATE
Rocky Checca, like Jennifer, graduated from Annapolis. He graduated from the Naval Academy in 2002 and was commissioned as an officer in the Marines.
Marines take the best and brightest to fly the CH-46E Sea Knights. It’s 83 feet long and weighs 24,000 pounds.
Rocky’s heart aches. His mother and father haven’t been able to do much about it since he left last summer.
“There will be times when he’d call three times in a month and other times when he can’t call at all,” Al said. “There have been times when we’ll get e-mails for three, four days in a row, then go two or three weeks without getting anything. It depends on when he has time.”
Rocky’s unit is stationed near the Sunni Triangle near Fallujah. It’s where insurgent car bombs have been the deadliest. Cas-evacs missions are routine, and they’re getting more dangerous. The Purple Foxes say they pick up the injured and the angels.
Last week a couple of Checca’s friends became angels.
“Rocky is very strong-willed and tough-minded,” his father said. “Right now, his psyche is somewhat fragile. It’s a tough time for us all. It’s a very difficult time for Jenn’s family.”
Iraq is a messy place. Checca believes in the mission, his father said. He always has, but he’s always said it was going to get worse before it gets better.
“He always says those guys over there aren’t stupid,” Al said. “They’re sophisticated in terms of what they do.”
Rocky’s head is always in the game in Iraq. It’s time to decompress from 7 1/2 long, hard, brutal months. His mom and dad know where they belong.
In their son’s arms.
Reach Repository sports writer Todd Porter at (330) 580-8340 or e-mail: todd.porter@cantonrep.com
Ellie