'TV War' Tough For Families To Take
Pilot News Staff Report
PLYMOUTH � Technology is allowing the military and the
media to bring the war in Iraq into our living rooms, putting all of us at the battlefront.
Polls support the notion the vast majority of Americans appreciate the technology which allows us all to be better informed about the war.
For some a front-row seat for Operation Iraqi Freedom is a mixed blessing.
The images on the TV screen strike too close to home for military moms, dads, spouses, children, and loved ones. They ask themselves if that is their loved one in the crashed helicopter? Is that my son or daughter, husband or wife, dad or mom, brother or sister, killed, wounded or taken prisoner in that battle?
Jeanne Watson�s grandson, Timothy J. Watson is a Chinook helicopter pilot for the 101st Airborne in Iraq.
Timothy is a 1990 graduate of Plymouth High School. He enlisted a year later.
�He has had a successful career in the military ever since,� Watson said. �We are all so proud of him.�
Timothy spent four years stationed in Hawaii. That�s where he met and married his wife, Katie. They have three
daughters between the ages of three and seven. Timothy was also stationed at Camp Irwin in California and graduated from Warrant Officer School at Fort Rucker, Alabama.
He may be in Iraq now, but Timothy�s home base is Fort Campbell, Kentucky. That�s where his wife and children are
waiting for him to come home.
Timothy�s parents, Tim and Jeannie Watson, still reside in Plymouth. He has a sister, Amy Porter, who lives in Plymouth and a sister, Kimberly Shock in Argos.
Prior to going to the Middle East, Timothy served a stint in Afghanistan. Watson said once they leave one battlefront, you expect your loved one to come home.
Timothy did return home, but only for a visit. He already had his deployment orders for Kuwait.
Watson has been watching the war coverage from Day One. Now that it is so many days later, she will rest easy only when Timothy is back on American soil with his wife, daughters and the rest of his family.
�I like having all the information, but it is hard to watch,� Watson said.
�I know he gets shot at. You see a helicopter crash, it can cross your mind . . . �
The reality of the war is tough for all families to take. Even when they realize their loved ones are safe, they know there is a grieving family out there, somewhere.
�That�s the way it goes, we are all concerned,� Watson added. �We will rest easier once we know Timothy is safe and sound.�
Ginny Gruwell of Plymouth, cannot say where her son, Larry Loring, 22, of Plymouth, is stationed. He is overseas. Loring does see combat.
Loring is a 1999 Plymouth High School graduate, who decided to �Do something with his life� when he joined the military.
�I am so proud Larry and these young men want to serve
their country,� said Gruwell. Operation Iraqi Freedom began after Larry enlisted.
�When he joined, he joked and said, �Now watch us go to
war somewhere,�� Gruwell said.
The war on TV is no joke. Gruwell worries when she sees American soldiers killed or wounded. Gruwell has a comfort zone that is tied in to watching the clock.
�I figure, if it was Larry, they will contact me in the next six hours,� Gruwell said.
Once that six hours passes by, Gruwell sleeps a little easier. She will rest easy until the war is over and Larry is back in the States.
�These young men are brave, but you are talking about boys who are 19- to 21-years-old,� Gruwell said.
�They are still babies.�
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