I wish I had thought of doing this back in August when Tyler first left for boot camp. Darn it!!!!!!
Well, better late than never...
Tyler left for Ft, Benning, GA on August 10, 2005. After he left, I looked up everything I could think of on the web. I had the Fort Benning website shortcut on my desktop. I had the Army BCT background and screensaver. I read everything I could about his training. I followed the training schedule day by day, week by week, trying to see what he was doing that day. I printed out their "typical training day" schedule and hung it up at my desk. I tried to learn about the weapons, the ranks, the handbook, the CORE values, requirements to pass. I pored over pictures, bought a CD of cadences and listened to it endlessly in my car til I had them all memorized. I got a video of training at Ft. Benning and decorated my car with Army stickers.
I was so very proud and so very worried. I promised him that I would write every day, and indeed I did. When I found out he had to do 25 pushups for every piece of mail he received, I kind of felt bad, but the other Army Moms assured me that their sons said it was well worth it, so I kept on mailing. It seemed to take forever to get an address for him - he was at the reception battalion for quite a while. That first letter from him was indeed a long-awaited treasure!
His letters were filled with pride and sprinkled with humor He told me about the things he learned, the foods he ate, and stories about some of their escapades. He truly seemed to enjoy everything he was doing. His only hangup was passing his PT test. Time after time he failed his pushups. He kicked butt on EVERYTHING else ... shooting, sit ups, running, grenades, just couldn't get those pushups.
I planned for his mid-cycle break like a woman planning her wedding. (He was scheduled to receive a 30 hour overnight pass). Saved the money, made the reservations, got the time off from work, gathered up the things Tyler had asked me to bring, got the car ready, counted off the days, baked him some brownies...then 6 hours before I was to leave I got a letter. "Mom, you may want to plan to stay home unless you want to be in Georgia alone. I didn't pass my pushups". I was devastated. I cried, I called my daughter, then I called the base.
"Yes ma'am you are correct, he did not pass his PT and his overnight pass has been revoked". My heart sank.
"There's a drill & ceremony competition Saturday morning, will he be there?" "Oh yes, ma'am, he'll BE there." "Will I be able to see him?" "Oh yes, ma'am, you'll be able to SEE him." Well, did the little smartass mean I would SEE him from 500 feet away, or would I be able to SEE TOUCH TALK TO him???? ARGHHHH!!"Well, what do I do now? Will I be able to spend ANY time at all with him?" "Well, ma'am, you'll have to speak to Senior Drill Sergeant Johnson about that." " OK (ya little no-help-at-all-snot) do you have a phone number for Senior Drill Sergeant Johnson????" "MA'AM - they are out on the field , they work 20 hours a day, you would be extremely lucky to reach Senior Drill Sergeant Johnson by phone." "OK ...(Biting my tongue and trying to be calm) so you are saying I will have to wait til I get down there and speak to Senior Drill Sergeant Johnson on Saturday?" "Yes, ma'am." " Thank you (for your complete lack of assistance)".So off I went at 7 PM that late October day to drive some 800 miles alone to hopefully see my son. I had prayed to God that I would graciously accept whatever time they would allow me to be with him, and if it was only 5 minutes, it would be worth it. Seventeen and a half hours later, I arrived in Columbus, Georgia. My room wasn't ready so I decided to go get my post pass. Suffice it to say that I am "directionally challenged". I somehow managed to put 80 miles on my car in the 2 days I was there and never went further than a few miles from the base. I got the pass, checked out the entrance to Sand Hill and went back to my hotel to sleep.Next morning, bright and early, I was up and off to Sand Hill for the drill & ceremony competition. I would see my son even if it was from far away. I had no idea what to expect. There was a fair crowd of people that chilly morning. We sat in the stands and waited, a group of strangers nervously chatting with one another, exchanging stories of "our men", all wondering how they'd look and how would we recognize them? Then in the distance we begin to hear manly voices singing a cadence, then the faint sounds of marching boots, then more voices with different cadences. An excitement passes through the crowd. "They're coming! Here they come!!"
We dash out of our seats to catch the first glimpse and here they come - groups of fatigue-clad soldiers marching in formation down the road and up to where we are at Kennel Field. You could FEEL the pride - in the families AND the soldiers. Drill Sergeants marched alongside barking out the cadences. The men, marching and sounding off loudly, echo the cadence back. Smarty-pants me recognized most of them and sang along lol! How will we know when our man comes by? We excitedly grab one another and search frantically - they all look so much alike! Soon I began to hear cries of "There he is! There's mine! I found mine!" I join in as I spy Tyler and try to get him on film as they march past. "There's Tyler! I found MINE!!!"
After the drill & ceremony competition, I saw the infamous Senior Drill Sergeant Johnson and called out to him saying "Oh! You're the one I am looking for!" He kind of grins and keeps going so I snag First Sergeant Chase and explain the situation. He says he will talk with Sgt Johnson and get back to me. "When?" "After the Family Briefing." "Where?" "At the Family Briefing. You will probably be able to see your son for a few minutes". *sigh* Off we go to the Family Briefing. I purchase a few 1-50th Infantry souvenirs and we all shuffle around finding seats. I sit next to a sweet young gal from Kentucky who, along with her 2 babies, is there to visit her young husband. Some guy starts telling us about the training they've gone through and shows a video that makes us all cry. Well, ok, just the moms cried. We applaud for the Drill Instructors and patiently listen to everything, when actually all we want to do is go see our sons!!!!! They warn us of all the things they are NOT allowed to do while on pass. They warn us about getting them back on time. Finally, we are released. I found Sgt. Chase and reminded him of our conversation. He calls Sgt. Johnson over who politely asks "What is your question?" (Did Chase not even tell him? sheesh) So I explain and Sgt. Johnson says I will be allowed to see Tyler for a few minutes. He also said that Tyler was "one of the good ones" and "he gets a lot of mail" (I grin inwardly) I asked him if I'd be able to maybe go to church services with him the next day.
NO. Will I be able to see him at ALL anymore after today?
NO. I accept that, grateful for the few minutes we will be allowed, and walk over to the barracks with everyone else.
We begin to see a few soldiers peeking out of their windows - they are pointing at us and we are pointing at them. Like mischievous little monkeys who got caught, suddenly all the blinds are pulled. We laugh. And we wait. And we wait some more. Fianlly they begin to come down and get into formations by platoon. Woohoo! Tyler is at the end of his row and I have a perfect view of him! He stands ramrod straight at attention forever as they are S-L-O-W-L-Y inspected, one by one. He is last in his platoon and I never saw him move a muscle. I saw others fidgeting and moving around and thought "hmmpf - slackers" LOLOL! I am so bad. After forever, they are released and I'm thinking to myself - Oh my God, maybe he doesn't know they said I'm allowed to see him and he will go up to his bunk and just stay there!!! So I holler to him as he goes past - TYLER!! I
DO GET TO SEE YOU! He flashes me a small smile and ducks in the doorway up to their bay.
So now I wait some more. I watch as soldiers come out and link up with their families, snazzy Class B's on, some wearing their new black trenchcoats, clutching their overnight bags and happily walking off.
"Man, I can't wait to get away from this place!" " Yay! finally get to get out of here!" The crowd is dwindling as the last men are coming out. Then I see him! I don't know if he can see me. I wave and try to get his attention - here he comes!!! He looks upset and I FINALLY get to give him that big, big hug I've been waiting to give him. Oh my, but it feels so good! I hurriedly get a few photos (thinking this may be IT - all the time we get). We move away from the others and he tells me he has to go change back into his BDU's and then we will be allowed 10 minutes in something called "the day room". I asked him how I will know where to go and he assures me that he will come back and get me. So I plunk myself down on a timber to sit and wait. As I'm on the phone with my husband, out he comes. I can't help but notice how upset he looks and it breaks my heart.
We have our visit, at first neither of us really know what to say, but soon we are talking and I offer him my cell phone, thinking he may want to call some people. He looked at it like it was a snake and declined, saying he didn't think he was allowed. I share the video I just shot of his platoon doing their drill & ceremony, and he notices little things they did wrong - I never would have noticed. We stretched the visit to nearly 45 minutes. I was expecting some big mean sergeant to pop in and tell us our time was up (like a prison visit or something) but no one ever did. We figured we had pushed it long enough and he was hungry so we left the day room and he walked me back outside. A few more pictures then time to say goodbye. This is the part I will never forget. He hugged me soooo tight, looked me right in the face, kissed me, said I love you and turned and walked away. I did not cry I did not cry I did not cry. :)
