Uplifting Homecoming
After tough tour in Iraq, Marine home for holiday
Friday, December 29, 2006
By Kathy Coffta Sims
Staff writer

Nine-month-old Kadin McCallum has been very busy the past few days.

He's meeting new people, getting used to Central New York's cold weather, playing with all the new toys Santa brought him and spending lots of quality time with his dad, Sgt. Nathan McCallum.

McCallum, 29, sat on the floor at his mom Patricia McCallum's apartment in Oneida on Thursday, happily building Lego towers for his son. His wife, Eileen, 27, who is from DeRuyter, was close by.

The family has been in Oneida since Saturday. On Tuesday, they'll fly back to Hawaii, where Nathan McCallum, a 1996 Oneida High School graduate, is stationed with the 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment.

McCallum spent seven months of 2006 in Iraq. During that time, 11 members of his battalion were killed, one from his company. He and his fellow Marines looked to each other for support during the rough times.

"We always had a memorial service," McCallum said. "You talk to whoever you can talk to," to get through it.

During his time in Iraq, McCallum was stationed in Haditha in al-Anbar province. He worked on foot patrol, going from house to house.

"We spent a lot of time inside people's houses, talking to them. They were happy to have us there," he said.

Conditions for the Marines have been steadily improving, he said.

"By the time we left," he said, "we had working Internet, satellite TV, Xboxes, PlayStations, all that stuff."

McCallum will start school in April, training to become an instructor for the infantry. He's been in the Marines, on and off, for about seven years.

"One way or the other, I'm finishing my full 20 (years)," he said, "whether it's in the reserves or active duty."

His wife is OK with that.

"I take it one day at a time," Eileen McCallum said. "The deployments are tough, but he's good at what he does."

Kathy Coffta Sims can be reached at kcoffta@syracuse.com or 470-3253.

Ellie