May 2009 Archives

Pat Curry

Not everything on live television goes as planned. Truthfully, that's practically every day. Today was no exception. We did a segment this morning bringing together family members with their soldier-children via satellite from Camp Phoenix, just outside Kabul, Afghanistan. Everything was coordinated--the satellite window, the families getting to the station early morning, the soldiers ready in front of a camera using an armored tank as their background. Everything looked rosy on this Memorial Day.

And just one of those unplanned glitches happened during the segment. We could hear them, but they could not hear us. A call to the satellite center confirmed the soldiers would not hear us. The anchors did the best they could to present what was to be an on-air reunion. Primarily four mothers and their four sons would appear ten-thousand miles apart with the ability to see and talk to each other. The segment might have looked awkward, strained if you were watching. There was a lot of, "can you hear me?" until finally the segment ended as quickly as it began. The awful phrase in our business, "technical difficulties" was announced. Ouch. Yet, the best part was not even on TV.

Not surrendering to the expensive technology of the station or satellites, or the military, a relative of one of the soldiers called  Spc. Ronald Pendleton from her cell phone. Pretty soon the cell phone in the studio was passed around, as was the one in Kabul. The soldiers scheduled for the segment got summoned from their barracks back to the camera, and we did it all over again, family style. Families got to talk to their loved ones, see them, laugh and cry with them.

Afterward, I  didn't care so much about the television part as I thought I would. Because what I saw in those other moments was equally if not more touching. Four mothers, four sons, separated by ocean and harsh terrain were no match for the will to reach out to each other. One by one, each took turns on both sides of the earth passing the phone from person to person, and the goal was achieved. Moms talked to their sons, beaming smiles from Kabul, misty eyes in the studio.  Words weren't necessary;  the families knew patience and resourcefulness would win out. If only the world could see the love displayed between these families, maybe we'd all declare peace.
 
For the hour the audience didn't get to see them, four mothers, their sons, and invited loved ones brought out hankies, rubbed their noses on their shirt sleeves and getting what they came for.  A series of private moments punctuated by laughter and tears followed. Toni, the mother of SSG Jeffrey Knodel, had a lot to say. She told us how she has baked 1200 cookies a month ever since her son had been in the service. That goes back to the time he was stationed at the North-South Korean border, in Iraq, and now here. A prouder mother I never have seen. And a brave one at that.

Spc. Ronald Pendleton talked to his daughter. The phone passed to Nancy Trieb.  Sgt. Kenneth W. Depenbrok, her son, now had her attention. I have four brothers and sisters and never felt the emotion I was witnessing in these moments. By the time the satellite ended, the room was no longer filled with strangers. People were talking, and hugging. The families were grateful for the opportunity to see their sons. They understood the difficulties of overseas communication, and didn't care if we watched their reactions on TV or not. They have their own mission, as do their sons and daughters.

My own thoughts were bogged down by the technical failure of the audio system. Of course I wanted it to work out the way we planned. But the plan didn't work, so we improvised, and it took a family member to remedy the situation, much like we'd expect our military  to improvise upon finding an at-first unremedial situation.

So the plan as we mapped it out didn't work so well for the television audience, but I think it did for the families, They got what they came for. That's what I felt watching and listening. I would like to name the soldiers and mothers who braved not just a war, but the private moments we saw of them talking to each other from a television studio. Family bonds were more important than feeling awkward with cameras aimed at them. So here we go: Spc. Ronald Pendleton and mother Jackie  Gibson Banks. Sgt. Kenneth Depenbrokand his mother Nancy Trieb. SSG Jeffrey Knodel and mother Toni. First Lt. Jeffrey Fleming and mother Cathy. And for all the family members who came with them.

I will write more about them during their mission. About a quarter will be home by November and a fundraiser is already being organized to welcome them home. A very dear man named John Mars is doing all he can to make sure a proper homecoming will happen. Alongside that, he's also trying to make it easier for returning veterans to find their way back to our American culture and back to a normal way of life. So much more to come. And thanks again to the families and soldiers from the Illinois National Guard who participated. We would gladly have had all of them on if possible. But a slice of bread is better than no slice at all, and today being Memorial Day was a perfect opportunity to show the faces and characters of them and those who stand behind them. I salute them all.

What a news week it's been. Developments in the Drew Peterson case have multiplied exponentially. Authorities say it could be two weeks before a body found in the Des Plaines River can be identified, but already there's speculation the body could be that of  Stacy Peterson or Lisa Stebic. Meanwhile  Peterson attorney Joel Brodsky has promised to fight for Drew in the Kathleen Savio murder case, i.e., keeping the original judge,getting Drew's bond lowered, and reminding us of Drew's innocence.  

There's obviously more going on in the world than this, but it is a big story and that's why it's been dominating the news. There's a long way to go in the case, and the families of Kathleen Savio and Stacy Peterson are the ones who really must be suffering, whether Drew turns out to be culpable in the murder in one case, and disappearance in the other.  I've talked to many families of missing children, spouses, and parents, and the worry they express is palpable. We need closure. I'd like to turn my attention to the concerns of some other families in light of Memorial Day.

Memorial Day is the time we commemorate those who sacrificed  their lives in times of war so that we here could live in peace. I know there are many families who'll be thinking of their loved ones on Monday, as they do every day. I'd like to bring attention to a group of brave men and women stationed just outside Kabul, Afghanistan who haven't gotten the attention Peterson has, but should. They are the members of the Illinois National Guard, and with more than 3000 members stationed there, it's the largest deployment of Illinois National Guard troops since World War II, according to Sgt. James Stroh, an Illinois Guardsman stationed at Camp Phoenix.
  
The men and women of Camp Phoenix are part of the 33rd Infantry Brigade. I confess a certain ignorance of numbers, and names of military units, but I do know that these brave people are putting their lives on the line for their country and for the Afghan citizens trying to find a sense of normalcy . Sgt. Stroh talks about two missions: Confronting the enemy and helping to deliver humanitarian aid. His upbeat attitude surprised me when we talked. He loves serving his country. He never said it was easy, but remains hopeful and is ful of purpose. As he told me, "things happen, good and bad." Stroh gave me the impression the troops really want peace and Afghans to become participants in their destiny. Osama bin Laden never came up.

Speaking of the good and bad, we saw a demonstration of both with WGN-TV reporter Tom Negovan telling us the story of how Taliban supporters burned books taken from a school Stroh's colleagues just helped deliver.  Even as they were leaving the books were already being assembled into a pile outside the school and torched. Tom recorded the event which shows just what our troops are up against.  Tom has a blog on his trip posted on our website, so read what he has to say and watch the video.

On Memorial Day we hope to have some of the members of the Guard on the morning show around 6:40am. We've invited the families of those who will appear from Camp Phoenix via satellite. I say "hope" meaning with satellites and war, anything is possible. Tom was going to be live for us earlier in the week, and he was transmitting through Skype. The communication line was running fine just up until the time he was to be live. Then it suddenly shut down. According to Tom, it could have been a sand storm somewhere, no one's sure. The point is, it's halfway around the world in a war-torn country. It's not as simple as calling across town. 

Even with all the hi-tech communications technology Afghanistan is a country still in tatters, prone to electricity blackouts, suicide missions, and general resistance. I hope we have the broadcast, but we have to remember it's a war they're fighting, communication signals get thrown off. Stroh says missions can be called in the middle of night, so everyday is uncertain as to what or where the troops end up doing. 

I have a number of mini-autobiographical forms sent to me soldiers must fill out if they're willing to talk or appear with the media. As I'm looking through these now, our Illinois Guard members mirror the people they serve, us. They come from all stripes, professions, ages--you name it.

There's Staff Sgt. Lydia Chen. She's a 23-year old student who hails from Aurora. Part of her mission is to protect and monitor the safety of the base. This brave young woman was deployed to Kabul last September, just days after becoming a United States citizen. I know from the brief conversations with her mother how proud, yet concerned the family is. SSG Chen is scheduled on our air Monday.

There's Lt. Jeffrey Fleming, a 26-year old police officer who calls McHenry County his hometown.  Chicagoan Joshua Almodovar is there. He was a Guard recruiter who decided to enlist because, well, in his own words: That after 4 ½ years of recruiting for the Illinois Army National Guard that I volunteered to come to Afghanistan, I felt that if I was enlisting fathers, mothers, sisters, brothers, sons and daughters that I should also make the same sacrifices they are willing to make. Joshua mentors thousands of Afghan police officers and has reported coming under attack.

This Memorial Day let' us remember our fallen heroes, but the selfless men and women still out there fighting an enemy sometimes impossible to identify. Americans can debate the merits of war and what we're fighting for, but doubts or not, the members of the Illinois National Guard don't have time for intellectual pursuits. They serve in earnest. Many have been in Iraq, others helped New Orleans during the Hurricane Katrina devastation. They go where they have to, and they go in so many cases, because they hear the call, and want to serve.

So here's to them and their brave families, proud and concerned. That's the real news. Let's hope Monday we can bring them together. We thank them for agreeing to appear publicly to what will obviously be an emotional setting. Nothing is easy about families being separated, and this kind of separation has to be the most difficult. We salute each and every one of them.