Northfield News column: Hoping for a safe homecoming

EDITOR'S NOTE: In June 2004 I began a new venture as managing editor of both Northfield News and Faribault Daily News. This column originally appeared in the Northfield News on Nov. 25, 2005.

As several families here in Northfield begin to celebrate the homecoming of the National Guard's 434th Chemical Company, I am learning for the first time about the anxiety they must have been feeling for the last year. Two weeks ago I learned that a nephew of mine from Michigan landed in Kuwait to receive his final training before he heads into Iraq. His final destination is yet unknown to us family members, and if he knows, he's not letting on where it is. I can't say, exactly, that the news about Dwight's deployment was shocking. He's been in the Army for some time now and he's been scheduled to leave for an overseas mission for quite a while. But previously the time would inevitably come for his deployment and his departure would be delayed. It became somewhat of a joke, but there was no delay this time. Until now, I had been mostly an unattached witness to the war going on in Iraq. As a reporter, I've talked to many families who had loved ones there and even a couple of families who lost a loved one there. But until now, my thoughts regarding the war in Iraq involved covering it as a reporter and my personal feelings about the conflict. I hadn't until now known what it was like to know somebody who was directly in danger there. Simply put: It's frightening. My nephew doesn't have an enviable job, either. He's trained to find and deactivate live ordinance, a position I can only assume is currently in high demand in Iraq. I can imagine what types of missions my nephew will be sent on, and it is an uncomfortable thought. However, I also know that he loves being in the Army and has known for a long time what he might be asked to do. I admire him; it seems that takes a courage most of us will never know. Dwight leaves behind him three small children, which once again I admire him for. I have two young children of my own, and I can't fathom the thought of walking away for an undetermined amount of time, missing their birthdays and other milestones, to serve in the military in a foreign land. Again, I think he must have courage I do not possess. Many will say that my nephew knew what could happen when he enlisted and therefore they do not have sympathy for him. In fact, I used to share a bit of this feeling myself. But in the last two weeks, I've discovered I can't rightfully hold onto to those rigid thoughts as I wonder if he will come home safely. He did willingly join the Army and obviously he is being shipped to Iraq to perform the job he was trained to do, but if it weren't him, and the thousands of others like him, doing it, then who would it be? All of us? As I learned that the 434th unit was coming home this week, I couldn't help but think about the different ends of the spectrum their families and I are at. I must be feeling what they were feeling just about year ago today when the 434th was deployed to Iraq. And I feel as if I'm understanding their anxiety for the first time. However, in about a year, maybe even sooner, I hope to also know the joy these local families are feeling at the thought of their loved ones coming home. God's speed, Dwight, and good luck. -- Devlyn Brooks is the managing editor of the Northfield News.