“It’s a good thing the Iraqis are a bad shot,” Jeff Carlson wrote in an e-mail to his mom describing how he and his wife, CeCe, couldn’t walk down the streets of Baghdad without getting fired upon. Nora Carlson of South Haven recalled the correspondence with a sad but accepting smile, then marvelled out loud at the beauty of the internet, which allows her to communicate with her son overseas every day. Some of the letters he sends are for her, others are written to his 10-month old son, Andrew, whom he left behind six months ago. The couple, both first lieutenants in the 40th Engineer Battalion, were married a year before they were called to duty. Their only son was only four months old when they left. Grandma raising baby Jeff’s mom has been raising Andrew ever since. She keeps his parents’ pictures displayed and helps him open the packages they send from overseas. “Jeff was calling once a week,” she said. “CeCe called maybe four times. I don’t think she could take it.” Of course that was before Nora got word of the couple’s reassignment to what cousin of the family Maggie Frieberg called a “high intensity area.” A little over a week ago Jeff, who was supposed to return May 1, called and said he was leaving Baghdad within 24 hours for another 90- to 120-day mission. She hasn’t heard from him since CeCe managed to convince her commander that she needed to be with her son and had her orders changed. Nora predicted she is already on her way to Germany where she was stationed before going to Iraq. Nora will fly Andrew there in mid-May with plans to stay awhile to help the mother and son get reacquainted. “The last time she saw him he was this little lump in an infant seat,” Frieberg said. “Now he’s everywhere.” Bittersweet The reunion in Germany will be bittersweet for mom and grandma without Jeff there to join them. That’s why, back in Annandale, Frieberg is making plans to gather a giant care package to send to not only her cousin, but to all the troops in his battalion. She has set up drop sites at all the churches in Annandale as well as Marketplace where people can leave donations. Because Jeff’s battalion is on the move the members are surviving on MRE’s, Meals Ready to Eat. The meal packages, usually consisting of chipped beef, peanut butter sandwiches and crackers, are heated through a chemical process that is activated when the package is opened. “It’s like pulling a rip chord on an inflatable raft,” Maggie said. They get two of those a day. Mailed treats Food that can be sent in the mail like trail mix, beef jerky, cheese and cracker combinations and vacuum packed tuna are a treat for the soldiers. Food items must be individually wrapped. Because they are constantly on the move, sleeping in tents in the desert, cleanliness is another concern, especially among the women to keep away infection, Nora said. They need toothpaste, tooth brushes, deodorant, wet wipes, lip balm, foot powders and feminine hygiene products. Magazines are a great way to take their minds off the war at the end of the day, Maggie added. She knows that her cousin and his wife are only two of thousands of young men and women who have had their lives interrupted to serve their country, and that is why she welcomes other families in the area with loved ones serving in Iraq to get involved with the project. Giant care package She invites families to call her at 274-5851 if they would like part of her giant care package to go to their son’s or daughter’s unit in Iraq. Jeff and CeCe were all packed and ready to go home when their tour of duty was extended, Nora said, and she knows other families are suffering the same disappointment. Today Andrew is taking his first steps and even forming words. He points to Jeff’s military picture high above him on an end-table at grandma’s prompting and says “Dad.” Nora was there when he started crawling, when he began teething. She tucked him in on Christmas Eve, filled his basket Easter morning and after every first she regrets that his parents weren’t here to see it. “When he really giggled out loud for the first time,” she said, “that first belly giggle, it was sad that his parents had to miss that.”
