NORFOLK, Va. (BP)–The skies were dreary gray and the pelting rain came down like waterfalls but for the family and friends of sailors stationed on the USS Harry S. Truman, it was the sunniest and happiest day they’d seen in a while.
There on Pier 14 at the Norfolk Naval Station, Laurie Hawks stood with her two little girls, Katherine, 5, and Mary, 1, with 12,000 other people, straining to see the first glimpses of the enormous aircraft carrier come into view. Her husband Gene, a supply officer for the Truman, was one of 5,000 men and women returning from the ship’s six-month deployment to the east Mediterranean and the war with Iraq. The day Laurie had been praying for — homecoming — had finally arrived.
After traveling more than 41,000 miles, flying more than 1,280 combat sorties and striking more than 588 targets, the men and women of the USS Truman stood in their dress whites at the rails of the great ship, ready to reunite with their families. More than a hundred new dads waited to meet their babies for the first time.
Chanting “USA, USA,” the crowd watched the ship dock and tie down, and as a 40-by-40-foot banner unfurled, reading “We Gave ‘Em Freedom,” they erupted with delight.
Looking over the sea of umbrellas, Laurie Hawks and her little girls quickly found Gene making his way through the crowd. As her daddy swept down and scooped her up, 5-year-old Katherine said to all who would listen, “My daddy’s really home!”
While the reunion of homecoming can bring enormous joy to military families, experts caution that the shift from deployment back to family can be difficult on both the family member coming home and the family who remained behind.
Greg DeMarco, associate pastor of pastoral care and family life at London Bridge Baptist Church in Virginia Beach, Va., has counseled hundreds of military couples and says the best way to handle homecoming is by taking it slow.
“You need to take it slow and let the military member talk about what they’ve experienced,” DeMarco said. It’s important for the spouse to be a good listener. He also offered a warning: “One of the things the spouse needs to be careful to avoid is to develop the attitude that ‘he’s been off playing war, now it’s his turn to handle the house.'”
“I’m just looking forward to him being in the house,” said Laurie Hawks, in an interview with Baptist Press a month before, “spending time out behind our house by our pond, watching the girls run to him and say, ‘Daddy, Daddy.’
“It’s only by the grace of God that we get through any of this,” said Laurie, who along with her husband, is a member of Pleasant Grove Baptist Church in Chesapeake, Va. “For months I’ve prayed for the transition, that’s the hardest part — just for God to give us the grace to take it slow and not get frustrated so quickly with one another.”
Truman Command chaplain Doyle Dunn, who is endorsed by the North American Mission Board, said now more than ever Christians should pray for the military.
“Pray for the family relationships that have been strained by the time apart and that there would be healing at every level,” Dunn said. “Also, pray that those who made commitments to God while we were at sea would follow through and continue to walk with Christ in faith.”
Dunn had the privilege of participating in the first baptism held on board the Truman and said there were several conversions while at sea. He admitted that it is hard to quantify how much of an impact that Christians made on board during their time in the east Mediterranean.
“There are many Christians who faithfully witness with their words and their actions with non-believers and backslidden Christians around them,” Dunn said. “God never lets his Word return void, so we believe each opportunity makes an impact. We accept the fact that with the frequent rotation of personnel in the military environment, we won’t always see the long-term results and may only know the true impact when we get to heaven.”
Soaking wet, but extremely happy, the Hawks walk off Pier 14 arm in arm and smiling ear to ear. Though Gene will only have four days of leave before returning to his normal port duties for the Truman, the family is excited that their husband and daddy is finally home.
“My Sunday School teacher said it best the other day,” said Laurie. “No matter what you’re going through, it’s wonderful to know that God has allowed it, and wouldn’t allow it if we couldn’t handle it by His grace.”
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Morris Abernathy contributed to this story. (BP) photos posted in the BP Photo Library at https://www.bpnews.net. Photo titles: AT HOME, DADDY’S HOME! and HOMECOMING.
