Publication:Chattanooga Times Free Press
Date:Sunday, June 19, 2005
Section:Front Page; Page:1

DISPATCH Iraq

By Edward Lee Pitts Military Affairs

Taking father and son bonding to a new level, several soldiers with the 278th Regimental Combat Team have made serving in Iraq a family affair.

No fewer than six pairs of fathers and sons are in harm’s way, deployed together with the Tennesseebased National Guard unit.

Despite the dangers and uncertainties of a combat zone, these family members with the 278th agree a dad or a son is any soldier’s best battle buddy.

"This isn’t like going fishing or deer hunting or rabbit hunting," said Cpl. Lindsey Nunn, 44, of Cleveland, Tenn., who retired from the 278th in the fall of 2003 but rejoined soon after learning his only son, Spc. Lucas Nunn, 22, was headed to the Middle East with the regiment. "I am looking out for the best interests of my son."

Spc. Nunn, 22, said he didn’t mind when his father re-enlisted just to be with him in Iraq.

"I’ve always got my pops here," said Spc. Nunn one afternoon last month while his father was visiting him in his room. "At home he always hangs out with my friends. We are not the normal father and son."

Cpl. Nunn was not the only relative willing to forfeit freedoms by volunteering at the last minute to come to Iraq. The other father and son pairs have surprisingly similar stories, and they say those stories reveal more about their bonds as best friends than about their family lines.

Sgt. 1st Class Bill King, 58, of Joelton, Tenn., who turned 21 in Vietnam and 58 in Iraq, said he decided to join the 278th just 48 hours after his son, Capt. John King received his official activation orders last spring.

"I’ve been in the middle of combat," Sgt. 1st Class King said. "We are here to support each other."

While dads volunteered to be with sons in the King and Nunn families, Sgt. Mike Earles, 52, of Kingsport, Tenn., said his son, Spc. Chris Earles, 23, of Blountville, Tenn., dropped out of his college ROTC program at ETSU to go overseas with his dad.

"He didn’t want to be left behind," Sgt. Earles said. "There is nothing I could say about it because I’d do the same thing." Spc. Donald Shockley, 30, of Bean Station, Tenn., also joined the 278th last year so he could be Iraq-bound with his father, Sgt. 1st Class Don Shockley.

"He can’t have a whole year off from me," Spc. Shockley said of his father.

Sgt. 1st Class Shockley, 48, of Whitesburg, Tenn., said the news of his son’s enlistment came as relief after he had tried unsuccessfully for a number of years to get his son to join the military.

"We have a stronger bond now than we did before because he made that sacrifice to be here with me," said Sgt. 1st Class Shockley , who is in his seventh year with the 278th after six years in the regular forces. "This is the highlight of my military career."

The other dads in Iraq echoed Sgt. 1st Class Shockley’s sentiments, speaking about the pride they have wearing the same uniform as their sons.

"My son and I grew up together in sports, go-cart racing and motorcycles," said Command Sgt. Maj. James Kyle, 58, about his son, 278th Maj. Jim Kyle. "This allows us to continue our relationship, still being father and son together."

Sgt. Maj. Kyle said he took his son to the recruiter to be enlisted on the boy’s 17th birthday.

GROWING UP GUARDSMEN

Each of the sons shared parallel stories of how spending their childhoods going to weekend National Guard duty with their fathers led to their own desires for Army life.

Spc. Zachary Troup, 20, of Morristown, Tenn., said he had been going to drill with his dad since he was 9 years old and he enlisted at 17. Capt. King, 34, said he wore some of his dad’s uniforms on weekend drills when he was 12.

The 278th father and son tandems said having a loved one close by eases their minds during this expected yearlong deployment.

"You are not totally away from home when you have family here," said Maj. Kyle, 35, of Knoxville.

Spc. Troup said he and his father, Sgt. Tom Troup, exercise and eat together almost daily at Forward Operating Base Bernstein.

"I see him more now than I ever did back home," Spc. Troup said. "I am not near as homesick as everyone else. I’ve got a third of my family here with me."

Capt. King said having his own children had cut into the time he used to spend with his dad at home. Until now. He said other soldiers have to call home or e-mail to discuss serious issues.

"Most people are jealous more than anything else," said Capt. King, who added soldiers have adopted his dad as their own surrogate father in Iraq. "I can talk to him about things I can’t tell anyone else, but we rarely sit around and talk about the military."

SHARING WORRIES

While emphasizing this benefit of always having someone they trust nearby, these troops also described how being in Iraq together comes with added worry over one another’s safety. The Shockleys serve in the same 2nd Squadron convoy unit with Sgt. 1st Class Shockley acting as platoon sergeant. But the two men go on separate missions.

"I wouldn’t want to be there if he got hurt," Sgt. 1st Class Shockley said. "I wouldn’t want to face that test." But they said they each make sure their paths cross before one of them heads outside the camp’s gates.

Other fathers and sons in the 278th also admitted talking with one another is one of the first activities they do back at the bases. Those whose jobs keep them inside the wires suffer through extra anxiety on days their son or father is outside on patrol.

Sgt. Troup, 56, said he stood by the radio one morning after learning a roadside bomb had exploded while his son was traveling in a convoy.

"I had a rough hour until all the information filtered back," said Sgt. Troup about the relieving reports of no injuries that day. "We’ve become much closer here through the heightened sense of danger. It adds a different dimension to stress. He’s a real good soldier, but accidents do happen."

But Sgt. Troup said the most worried of all is his wife and Spc. Troup’s mother, Jackie.

"It is very hard on her," said Sgt. Troup. "She gets a double dose."

Command Sgt. Maj. Kyle said the biggest negative of serving with his son is leaving the women of the family behind.

"If one of us were home, we could take care of both families," he said. "Now we are relying on friends."

ROLE REVERSALS

With some sons here officers and their fathers enlisted men, the traditional authority roles are reversed.

Command Sgt. Maj. Kyle, one of the highest-ranking enlisted men in the regiment, gave his son the first salute after Maj. Kyle received his officer’s commission in 1992.

But Capt. King said his father, a sergeant, has never saluted him. "I have been an officer for 10 years, and I don’t think he ever will," said Capt. King. "He is a dad first and a soldier second."

In fact, Sgt. 1st Class King joked about how he had flashbacks to all the carpools he drove for his son when he recently picked up Capt. King and his soldier "buddies" to drive them around Camp Caldwell in a Humvee.

"This is more like when I was 15," Capt. King said Still Cpl. Nunn said he tries to offer his son fatherly advice as a military veteran while recognizing his son is more than a relative in Iraq.

"Out here I try not to treat him like my son because he isn’t just my son, he’s a solder with the Tennessee National Guard, and he deserves respect," Cpl. Nunn said.

WAR STORIES

Command Sgt. Maj. Kyle, said this year in Iraq continues a tradition started by his father, who was a combat medic during World War II. Command Sgt. Maj. Kyle said his 88-year-old mother now could say she is a wife, mother and grandmother of those who served.

Command Sgt. Maj. Kyle said he regrets his father never talked about his war experiences, but such a silence would not happen between him and Maj. Kyle because they are sharing many experiences in the same combat zone.

In fact, all the fathers and sons in the 278th said they are anxious to swap war stories when they return home.

"My father was in World War II," Sgt. Troup said. "And he told his war stories, but there wasn’t anybody around to back him up. This will be a lot different."

In fact, Cpl. Nunn says he can’t wait to tell his grandkids he served in the Army with their "great granddaddy Nunn."

"We have become a part of history together," he said.

E-mail Lee Pitts at lpitts@timesfreepress.com

U.S. Army Photo by Staff Sgt. Russell Lee Klika - Spc. Donald Shockley, left, and his father, Sgt. 1st Class Don Shockley, serve together in Iraq.

Note: Also serving in Iraq - the Cartwrights; John, John Jr., and Chris.

Story Copyright to Chattanooga Times Free press