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thedrifter
03-24-08, 09:10 AM
Soldier finally gets to hold his son
Home News Tribune Online 03/24/08

By JOSHUA BURD
STAFF WRITER
jburd@eastbrun.gannett.com

Returning from a seven-month tour in Iraq with the Marine Corps, Lance Cpl. Timothy Coghan of South Amboy and his unit arrived in Red Bank on Saturday to be greeted by dozens of friends and relatives they had not seen in several months.



But there was one family member Coghan was meeting for the first time: his 4-month-old son, Timothy Jr.

"When I first held him, I stared at him for a good five minutes," Coghan said.

On an Easter weekend when he reunited with his wife, Kiara, and the rest of his immediate family, the 21-year-old Laurence Harbor native's homecoming was celebrated all Saturday and Sunday.

At his brother's home in Carteret on Sunday, several family members described the moment when Coghan first saw his son, using words such as "shocked" and "dumbfounded."

And according to Coghan's mother, it hasn't taken long for them to bond.

"He stares at him like he knows him," Coghan's mother, Debbie, said of Timothy Jr.

A reservist in the 6th Motor Transport Battalion, Coghan said he joined the armed forces in 2006 because "I had to change my life around."

By doing so, he followed his brother Tom, 26, who served as a Marine in Iraq in 2003, and his brother Matt, 22, who served as a Navy police officer.

After several months of training, Coghan's unit was activated in May 2007 and deployed to Al Taqaddum, Iraq, in August.

While he didn't discuss the specifics of his tour, he noted the camaraderie he took from his experience after spending so many months with the same group of people.

"You meet most of your best friends in the Marines rather than out here," Coghan said, adding that he and his fellow soldiers "looked after each other."

His unit left Iraq and departed from Kuwait on March 17, making a brief refueling stop in Ireland before reaching the Marine Corps Air Station in Cherry Point, N.C.

During the 23-hour trip, Coghan said he knew he was going home to see his son, but "didn't realize it" until meeting Timothy Jr. and holding him for the first time.

After changing his first diaper on Saturday, he said it "takes some time adjusting because a lot of things are different," even besides the obvious change.

He said he feels like more of a family with his wife, Kiara, 17, whom he married in May, now that they're able to take care of their son together.

Coghan said he will report back to Red Bank on Thursday to complete his post-deployment activities.

As he looks to continue with a criminal justice program at Lincoln Technical Institute in Edison, his long-term plans include trying to stay on active duty with the Marines and becoming a police officer in the area.

And he said he looks forward to taking Timothy Jr. to a baseball game.

Ellie