thedrifter
03-16-07, 07:37 AM
Homecoming: Hugs for a Marine
By JIMMY NESBITT, Courier & Press staff writer 464-7501 or nesbittj@courierpress.com
Friday, March 16, 2007
David Snow clutched his daughter, Jackie, and cried. He just got home from work. This was the first time the two had seen each other in eight months. Pfc. Jackie Snow, 23, left in July for Iraq, where she guarded a base with the 1st Marines of Camp Pendleton, Calif.
Her father worried about her daily. He grimaced with every report of another U.S. casualty. Weekly phone calls from Jackie kept him hopeful that she would one day return.
When she finally did Thursday afternoon, Snow wouldn't let go. Their reunion brought tears of joy and smiles to a place that has seen much pain. Jackie's mother, Angie Schaefer, 45, lives at Eastbrook Mobile Home Park, where scores of people died after the Nov. 6, 2005 tornado. Schaefer was one of the lucky ones. Her mobile home suffered minor structural damage in the tornado, and no one was injured.
When Snow, 47, did let go of his daughter, he struggled to describe his emotions. "It's tough to take," he said.
Jackie will be in Evansville for about two weeks and then return to Camp Pendleton. She spoke fondly of her time at Al Taqaddum, Iraq, where her unit guarded a military base. The work was tiresome. Shifts were 12 hours long, and the Marines remained on call for up to 36 hours, she said. There were occasional rocket and mortar attacks.
None of the blasts occurred close to her, but she could hear the explosions. "Right now, I'd say it's going pretty good," she said of Iraq. "It's not as bad as everyone says it is."
Jackie Snow flew into Indianapolis on Thursday morning and then drove to Evansville. She was greeted at the airport by her mother and two sisters. Schaefer was so eager to touch her daughter that when she saw her walking out of the gate, she stepped over a security line.
"The security guard told me to get back," Schaefer said.
She obeyed. When her daughter crossed the line, the two embraced and danced. I didn't let go," Schaefer said.
There's a chance she'll return to Iraq in 2009. But she wasn't thinking about that, and neither were her parents. She was home, safe, and for now that was all that mattered.
Ellie
By JIMMY NESBITT, Courier & Press staff writer 464-7501 or nesbittj@courierpress.com
Friday, March 16, 2007
David Snow clutched his daughter, Jackie, and cried. He just got home from work. This was the first time the two had seen each other in eight months. Pfc. Jackie Snow, 23, left in July for Iraq, where she guarded a base with the 1st Marines of Camp Pendleton, Calif.
Her father worried about her daily. He grimaced with every report of another U.S. casualty. Weekly phone calls from Jackie kept him hopeful that she would one day return.
When she finally did Thursday afternoon, Snow wouldn't let go. Their reunion brought tears of joy and smiles to a place that has seen much pain. Jackie's mother, Angie Schaefer, 45, lives at Eastbrook Mobile Home Park, where scores of people died after the Nov. 6, 2005 tornado. Schaefer was one of the lucky ones. Her mobile home suffered minor structural damage in the tornado, and no one was injured.
When Snow, 47, did let go of his daughter, he struggled to describe his emotions. "It's tough to take," he said.
Jackie will be in Evansville for about two weeks and then return to Camp Pendleton. She spoke fondly of her time at Al Taqaddum, Iraq, where her unit guarded a military base. The work was tiresome. Shifts were 12 hours long, and the Marines remained on call for up to 36 hours, she said. There were occasional rocket and mortar attacks.
None of the blasts occurred close to her, but she could hear the explosions. "Right now, I'd say it's going pretty good," she said of Iraq. "It's not as bad as everyone says it is."
Jackie Snow flew into Indianapolis on Thursday morning and then drove to Evansville. She was greeted at the airport by her mother and two sisters. Schaefer was so eager to touch her daughter that when she saw her walking out of the gate, she stepped over a security line.
"The security guard told me to get back," Schaefer said.
She obeyed. When her daughter crossed the line, the two embraced and danced. I didn't let go," Schaefer said.
There's a chance she'll return to Iraq in 2009. But she wasn't thinking about that, and neither were her parents. She was home, safe, and for now that was all that mattered.
Ellie