thedrifter
05-06-08, 08:02 PM
Parents hear Afghan firefight on voice mail
The Associated Press
Posted : Tuesday May 6, 2008 18:45:27 EDT
OTIS, Ore. — An Oregon couple checking their voice mail found a frightening three-minute recording of their son caught in a battle in Afghanistan.
Stephen Phillips and other soldiers in his Army MP company were battling insurgents when his phone was pressed against his Humvee. It redialed and called his parents in the small Oregon town of Otis.
Most the sounds were gunfire, but shouts can be heard, including, “More ammo! More ammo!”
“At the end, you could hear a guy saying ‘Incoming! RPG!’ And then it cut off,” said John Petee, Phillips’ brother.
Phillips’ mother, Sandie Petee, and her husband, Jeff Petee, were not at home at the time of the call. When they checked their voice mail, they heard the shooting.
“His friend died a year ago in Iraq and I’m thinking, ‘Oh my God, this may be the last time I hear my son’s voice on the phone,”’ Sandie Petee said.
Her husband added: “It’s something a parent really doesn’t want to hear. It’s a heck of a message to get from your son in Afghanistan.”
As soon as the voice mail stopped playing, the Petees began trying to reach their son in Afghanistan.
“I finally got a hold of him,” Sandie Petee said. “He was embarrassed, he said, ‘Don’t let Grandma hear it.”’
Stephen Phillips is scheduled to return home next month, when his tour is complete, his mother said.
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Listen to the message at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4goOzg0lass. Warning: this segment contains offensive language and may not be suitable for all listeners.
Ellie
The Associated Press
Posted : Tuesday May 6, 2008 18:45:27 EDT
OTIS, Ore. — An Oregon couple checking their voice mail found a frightening three-minute recording of their son caught in a battle in Afghanistan.
Stephen Phillips and other soldiers in his Army MP company were battling insurgents when his phone was pressed against his Humvee. It redialed and called his parents in the small Oregon town of Otis.
Most the sounds were gunfire, but shouts can be heard, including, “More ammo! More ammo!”
“At the end, you could hear a guy saying ‘Incoming! RPG!’ And then it cut off,” said John Petee, Phillips’ brother.
Phillips’ mother, Sandie Petee, and her husband, Jeff Petee, were not at home at the time of the call. When they checked their voice mail, they heard the shooting.
“His friend died a year ago in Iraq and I’m thinking, ‘Oh my God, this may be the last time I hear my son’s voice on the phone,”’ Sandie Petee said.
Her husband added: “It’s something a parent really doesn’t want to hear. It’s a heck of a message to get from your son in Afghanistan.”
As soon as the voice mail stopped playing, the Petees began trying to reach their son in Afghanistan.
“I finally got a hold of him,” Sandie Petee said. “He was embarrassed, he said, ‘Don’t let Grandma hear it.”’
Stephen Phillips is scheduled to return home next month, when his tour is complete, his mother said.
———
Listen to the message at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4goOzg0lass. Warning: this segment contains offensive language and may not be suitable for all listeners.
Ellie