A Bittersweet Marriage
By Peter Gelling

The cold, driving rain did nothing to dampen the mood at the New York School of Medical and Dental Assistance Nov. 12.

Everyone there, and everyone was there, was beaming with joy, if only a little nervous.

“We have the bride, but we are still missing the groom and the minister,” said one student.

The groom was a little late in coming, which was not surprising. He didn’t even know he was getting married until earlier that afternoon.

Sgt. Keith Chapman and Carla Davis of Woodhaven had previously planned a wedding - one with friends, family, a church, flowers, a reception and everything. It was all set to go, they had a date and Davis’ friends at the medical assistance school where she teaches had begun planning a bridal shower.

But then Chapman got his call.

“Everything I had planned went out of the window,” said Davis. “It was depressing.”

Chapman had received his orders and was now being deployed to Iraq before his wedding could take place.

“Our last resort was to go to the court,” Davis said. “I didn’t want that. My whole wedding had gone down the tubes. I started talking to my co-workers and now, suddenly, all this is happening.”

The staff of her school, along with many of her students, decided Davis would have her wedding. And in a matter of days, they threw together an elaborate wedding ceremony and reception right inside the school the night before Chapman would leave for Iraq.

The hardest part, it seemed, was getting this message to Chapman.

“I didn’t even get to talk to him or see him before the wedding,” Davis said. “He is in upstate New York. I don’t even know exactly where the base is. I have to wait for him to contact me.”
So while she waited for her future husband to get word and sprint to Queens for his wedding ceremony, Davis and her staff prepared for the night.

At about 4 p.m., an hour before the wedding was to begin, the husband had still not shown, and masses of students were atwitter with activity, setting up tables, cooking food, placing flowers and hanging decorations. Davis has worked at the school for almost 15 years and said she considers everyone there to be like family.

“I found out my boss’ daughter is going to be the flower girl and it just makes me so happy,” she said.

But while the night itself was certain to be a happy occasion, the reality that the very next day, her husband would be leaving for Iraq plagued her.

“I am a nervous wreck. I don’t even entertain that anything is going to happen to him, I just say my prayers,” she said.
One year and four months before what would be their wedding day, Davis and Chapman met. She had been standing outside a club on Jamaica Avenue when a few police officers noticed that a “fan club” of ogling men had been slowly growing around her. They approached and offered her the protection of a few military men who were patrolling the subway station.
And now she is married to one of them.

“He proposed to me at Fort Hamilton,” Davis said. “He was on his knee for what seemed like 25 minutes.”

Davis’ sister managed to fly in the night before the wedding so she could take her sister to get her hair and nails done. Most of Davis’ family is in Florida, and couldn’t make it in time. But she had her school family there, and they had every intention of making it as real a wedding as they could.

The ceremony was held in a classroom, complete with medical posters, sinks and a chemical eye cleanser. But with all the decorations, a makeshift aisle made of paper, flowers, a piano and, of course, the bride and groom, the night had all the feeling of a wedding.

And a wedding it was. Chapman had arrived dressed for the occasion (although a bit wrinkled) and by 6 p.m., the minister had pronounced them husband and wife. Chapman kissed his bride and the room cheered.

“In a year and eight months from now, we will be able to go about our lives without having to worry, without having to lose sleep at night,” the bride smiled.

A New Mother Heads To Iraq
By Peter Gelling

In July, Erin gave birth to her second baby. Two months later she was called to Iraq.

“We are very upset,” said Pat Hendrick, her stepfather who raised Erin with her mother since she was just 1 year old - she is now 23. “She told them she had just given birth but they said she had to go. Unbelievable. We pleaded with them.”

Erin was recruited at her high school when she was just 17. Her mother signed the paperwork allowing her to sign up thinking there would be no war and that it might be worth it.
“They promised her all this stuff,” Hendrick said.

Now she is training in South Carolina before she heads to Iraq to serve her tour of a year and a half. Her newborn baby hadn’t even begun sleeping through the night.

Erin is in administration and will be assigned to sorting mail. It isn’t direct combat but there are few places safe in Iraq these days, said Hendrick.

She got the Iraq assignment after she placed well during sharp-shooting practice.

Together with Erin’s husband and her mother, Hendrick tried everything to keep his daughter at home – even taking it to Congress.

“We are very upset,” Hendrick said. “We have been trying to talk to her base commander, to anybody, we even wrote to a congressman in Jersey. But they just keep saying there is nothing they can do, she was called up - it is like jury duty.”
The Army told Hendrick that since Erin has such a wide support network at home, she has people around her to take care of the baby while she is gone. If she had been a single mother and all alone, they might have let her stay, he said.

“It is very frustrating. We were scared that she was going to Kuwait, now she is going to Iraq. I don’t care if you are just sorting the mail. That is the place they want to attack the most – the safest places. I told her to be careful and hopefully she’ll get lucky.”

Unlike many military families, Hendrick and his wife do not support the war. And he said Erin has mixed emotions about it as well.

“She’s half worried and half excited that she is going to see combat,” he said. “She realizes what is going on, but she pretty much feels trapped, she has to serve, short of deserting, what can she do? She is very bitter sweet about it.”

Since Erin left for training (she leaves for Iraq in January), her husband and his mother have been taking care of the kids. Hendrick took an extra job to help out and he and his wife have offered their help, but her husband said he wanted to stay with the kids as much as possible.

The family is still remaining hopeful that she won’t have to end up going, or that she’ll be able to come home early. But as the deadline approaches and there is no word, that hope turns to anger.

“Maybe the elections will get more countries involved and she won’t have to go,” Hendrick said. “I have three other kids and now I am worrying about the draft. What the hell are we still doing there? There is no reason, what point are you proving now? The longer we stay the more they’ll hate us and then they’ll start calling US terrorists. It’s ridiculous.”

Before Erin was called to Iraq she spent most of her time with her two children – her oldest is 3 years old and recently celebrated a birthday, one her mother wasn’t able to attend.

“Everyone was there but her mother,” Hendrick said. “If this is what holidays are going to be like, it’s going to be hard.”

In July, Erin gave birth to her second baby. Two months later she was called to Iraq.

“We are very upset,” said Pat Hendrick, her stepfather who raised Erin with her mother since she was just 1 year old - she is now 23. “She told them she had just given birth but they said she had to go. Unbelievable. We pleaded with them.”

Erin was recruited at her high school when she was just 17. Her mother signed the paperwork allowing her to sign up thinking there would be no war and that it might be worth it.

“They promised her all this stuff,” Hendrick said.

Now she is training in South Carolina before she heads to Iraq to serve her tour of a year and a half. Her newborn baby hadn’t even begun sleeping through the night.

Erin is in administration and will be assigned to sorting mail. It isn’t direct combat but there are few places safe in Iraq these days, said Hendrick.

She got the Iraq assignment after she placed well during sharp-shooting practice.

Together with Erin’s husband and her mother, Hendrick tried everything to keep his daughter at home – even taking it to Congress.

“We are very upset,” Hendrick said. “We have been trying to talk to her base commander, to anybody, we even wrote to a congressman in Jersey. But they just keep saying there is nothing they can do, she was called up - it is like jury duty.”
The Army told Hendrick that since Erin has such a wide support network at home, she has people around her to take care of the baby while she is gone. If she had been a single mother and all alone, they might have let her stay, he said.

“It is very frustrating. We were scared that she was going to Kuwait, now she is going to Iraq. I don’t care if you are just sorting the mail. That is the place they want to attack the most – the safest places. I told her to be careful and hopefully she’ll get lucky.”

Unlike many military families, Hendrick and his wife do not support the war. And he said Erin has mixed emotions about it as well.

“She’s half worried and half excited that she is going to see combat,” he said. “She realizes what is going on, but she pretty much feels trapped, she has to serve, short of deserting, what can she do? She is very bitter sweet about it.”

Since Erin left for training (she leaves for Iraq in January), her husband and his mother have been taking care of the kids. Hendrick took an extra job to help out and he and his wife have offered their help, but her husband said he wanted to stay with the kids as much as possible.

The family is still remaining hopeful that she won’t have to end up going, or that she’ll be able to come home early. But as the deadline approaches and there is no word, that hope turns to anger.

“Maybe the elections will get more countries involved and she won’t have to go,” Hendrick said. “I have three other kids and now I am worrying about the draft. What the hell are we still doing there? There is no reason, what point are you proving now? The longer we stay the more they’ll hate us and then they’ll start calling US terrorists. It’s ridiculous.”

Before Erin was called to Iraq she spent most of her time with her two children – her oldest is 3 years old and recently celebrated a birthday, one her mother wasn’t able to attend.
“Everyone was there but her mother,” Hendrick said. “If this is what holidays are going to be like, it’s going to be hard.”

Not Home For The Holidays
By Jack Buehrer

Mark sinatra, a sniper in the u.s. marine corps, informed his parents that he wouldn’t be home for the holidays.

For the first time in 20 years, Jack and Elizabeth Sinatra won’t be celebrating the holidays with their entire family.

The Sinatras this year will go through their yearly yuletide routine minus one very important person: their youngest son, Mark.
Mark Sinatra, a sniper in the U.S. Marine Corps, will spend his first Christmas away from home in Iraq, where he is stationed near the Syrian border. Although the Holy Cross High School graduate will be thousands of miles from his College Point home on Christmas Day, his parents say he wouldn’t have it any other way.

“Of course he’d like to be able to come home and be with his family for the holidays,” Elizabeth said, “but this is what he wanted to do. We’re very proud of him, but it is difficult knowing he won’t be here.”

Though this year is his first Christmas away from home, it’s not Sinatra’s first deployment. After enlisting a month after graduating high school in 2002, he was overseas until October 2003. After returning for 11 months — which included last Christmas — Mark, now a Lance Corporal, left for Iraq again in August. At this point, Elizabeth said, he’s scheduled to return in March.

Though they have been able to keep in somewhat regular contact with their son (“we were talking to him every couple of days until this Fallujah thing broke out,” his mother said), the subject of Christmas has come up only once, when Mark broke the bad news.

“We don’t talk about it much [with him],” Elizabeth said. “He told us he won’t be home and we haven’t really brought it up with him since. It’s hard for all of us.”

So to keep a positive outlook as they head into the difficult holiday season, the Sinatras have focused their efforts on making other soldiers, as well as their son, happy. Both Elizabeth and Jack have headed up the Knights of Columbus’ holiday drive, sending hundreds of boxes of care packages to deployed troops. The packages contain everything from practical items such as toiletries and clothing to homemade baked goods and candy.

“It helps because there’s a lot of people over there who don’t get anything at all,” Elizabeth said. “So we collect things and send them to whatever names we can get. There’s not really any restrictions on what we can send them. Everything they get over there they really appreciate.”

And what about Mark?

“Oh, he gets a box about every two weeks,” Elizabeth said with a laugh. “The Christmas box is getting ready to be sent out. He said it’s getting cold out there so what he really wants is a sweatshirt. But we’re sending him some magazines and cookies and candy, too. It’s not the same [as being home for the holidays], but we know he’s happy to receive it all.”

Giving Back
By Jack Buehrer

As the holidays approach and the air grows colder in iraq, many u.s. soliders are looking forward to gift packages containing warm clothing.

In times of war, many Americans often feel compelled to reach out to their troops serving overseas.

Whether it’s sending care packages to loved ones or simply donating supplies to nameless men and women who need them, nothing brings out the public’s support for the armed forces like a raging war, thousands of miles away from home.

And never is that more evident than during the holidays.
According to the U.S. Department of Defense, packages sent to troops serving in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines and National Guard more than double during the holiday season. The packages range from boxes of cookies and candy and other “delicacies” to more practical items like heavy clothing, toiletries and reading material.

But the biggest question most people have is how to send these packages to the troops, and how to get them into the hands of those who need them. Unless the sender knows the individual U.S. Postal Service APO/FPO mailing address of a particular soldier — which most families do — it is more effective to make donations to the many organizations that take up collections for soldiers year round.

Only relatives and friends of soldiers that personally received an address should send packages as those addressed to “any service member” are banned for security reasons. Americans without loved ones overseas can still find several ways to send packages or holiday greetings to their troops by visiting www.defendamerica.mil and clicking on the “support our troops” link.

Groups such as the Army Emergency Relief, Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society, Air Force Aid Society or Coast Guard Mutual Assistance accept monetary donations. Other options include the American Red Cross and Operation Interdependence, as well as local charity organizations such as the Veterans of Foreign Wars and Knights of Columbus.

To make contributions to the above organizations, contact:

• Army Emergency Relief: Attn: Donations, 200 Stovall St., Room 5-N-13, Alexandria, VA, 2232-0600, or call (703) 325-0463, or e-mail to campaign@aerhq.org.

• Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society: 4015 Wilson Boulevard, 10th Floor, Arlington, VA 22203

• Air Force Aid Society: Suite 202, 241 18th St., Arlington, VA 22202

• Coast Guard Mutual Assistance: 4200 Wilson Blvd, Suite 610, Arlington, VA 22203-1804

To Our Soliders: Thank You Queens residents hope their soliders fighting overseas will be flying home soon. The following is a list of many of the Queens soldiers serving in the armed forces. Our thoughts are with them this holiday season. Astoria Army Pvt. Sejin J.P. Sueyoshi Bayside Army Pfc. Hyosung Kim Army Pvt. Ik Kyu Lim Army Spec. Freddy H. Ponton Jr. Army Spec. Hyon J. Ha Army Spec. So M. Park Cambria Heights Air Force Airman Gregory C. Claude College Point Army Reserve Pvt. Isidoro P. Posadas Corona Army Spec. Michael A. Bruce Elmhurst Air Force Airman 1st Class Johan S. Almanzar Army Reserve Pvt. John J. Lee Army Reserve Pvt. Edward Lau Flushing Air Force ROTC Cadet Jin Choi Army Sgt. Orlando E. Gill Army Reserve Pvt. Steven F. Hung Army Reserve Pvt. Gerard L. Torres Army 2nd Lt. David P. Fleming Army Pfc. JiWook Ryu Army Reserve Pvt. John G. Kim Air Force Reserve Airman 1st Class Kent Y. Zhou Air Force Airman 1st Class Yerida M. Martinez Forest Hills Air Force Airman 1st Class Chan M. Park Fresh Meadows Army Reserve Pvt. Eduardo A. Gonzalez Army Reserve Pvt. Jesse Quijije Hollis Army Reserve Pvt. Derek J. Bisson Howard Beach Army Reserve Pvt. Joseph S. Gulino Jackson Heights Army Reserve Pvt. Michael Ivanciu Army Reserve Pvt. Ronald A. Benavides Jamaica Army Staff Sgt. Maurice E. Ferguson Army Spec. Pablo Santa Cruz Army Sgt. Colin E. Millington Army Spec. Bhelton Ray King Army Reserve Pvt. Kimberly G. Goode Army Reserve Pvt. Barry S. Parker Army Pvt. Jason S. Bowman Army Sgt. 1st Class Curtis F. Williams Army Reserve Pvt. Angela Monroe Air Force Airman Jesus Abreu Laurelton Army Spec. Christopher M. Bridges Long Island City Army Reserve Pvt. Anthony C. Aya Army Reserve Pvt. Janina L. Washington Army Reserve Pvt. Bong K. Oh Army National Guard Pvt. Haydee C. Jorge Maspeth Army Reserve Pvt. Adorian Lazar Ozone Park Air Force Airman 1st Class Nizam A. Khan Air National Guard Airman 1st Class Adam G. Hults Army Staff Sgt. Juan Rizo Army National Guard Pvt. Jonathan R. Clement Queens Village Army Reserve Pvt. Carz L. Craffey Army Reserve Pvt. John C. Thampi Air Force Airman Aaron Mondie Army Pvt. Christopher J. Williams Rego Park Air National Guard Airman 1st Class Mauricio A. Gaviria Richmond Hill Army Reserve Pvt. Anthony R. Rodriguez Ridgewood Army Pvt. Jesse G. Marin Air Force Airman Joseph J. Walters Rockaways Army Pfc. Eric A. Romero Army Reserve Pvt. Houng Lee Air Force Airman Shanique I. Willis Air Force Airman Prince S. Allah Air Force Reserve Airman 1st Class Quentin C. Nichols Rosedale Air Force 1st Lt. Kwabena K.M. Atiemo Springfield Gardens Army Reserve Pvt. Perry O. Adeleye St. Albans Army National Guard Spec. Isaac S. Miller Jr. Whitestone Army National Guard Spec. William F. Petruzzi Woodhaven Air Force Airman Partick J. Driscoll Woodside Air Force Airman Jim V. Bevilacqua Astoria Army Pvt. Sejin J.P. Sueyoshi Bayside Army Pfc. Hyosung Kim Army Pvt. Ik Kyu Lim Army Spec. Freddy H. Ponton Jr. Army Spec. Hyon J. Ha Army Spec. So M. Park Cambria Heights Air Force Airman Gregory C. Claude College Point Army Reserve Pvt. Isidoro P. Posadas Corona Army Spec. Michael A. Bruce Elmhurst Air Force Airman 1st Class Johan S. Almanzar Army Reserve Pvt. John J. Lee Army Reserve Pvt. Edward Lau Flushing Air Force ROTC Cadet Jin Choi Army Sgt. Orlando E. Gill Army Reserve Pvt. Steven F. Hung Army Reserve Pvt. Gerard L. Torres Army 2nd Lt. David P. Fleming Army Pfc. JiWook Ryu Army Reserve Pvt. John G. Kim Air Force Reserve Airman 1st Class Kent Y. Zhou Air Force Airman 1st Class Yerida M. Martinez Forest Hills Air Force Airman 1st Class Chan M. Park Fresh Meadows Army Reserve Pvt. Eduardo A. Gonzalez Army Reserve Pvt. Jesse Quijije Hollis Army Reserve Pvt. Derek J. Bisson Howard Beach Army Reserve Pvt. Joseph S. Gulino Jackson Heights Army Reserve Pvt. Michael Ivanciu Army Reserve Pvt. Ronald A. Benavides Jamaica Army Staff Sgt. Maurice E. Ferguson Army Spec. Pablo Santa Cruz Army Sgt. Colin E. Millington Army Spec. Bhelton Ray King Army Reserve Pvt. Kimberly G. Goode Army Reserve Pvt. Barry S. Parker Army Pvt. Jason S. Bowman Army Sgt. 1st Class Curtis F. Williams Army Reserve Pvt. Angela Monroe Air Force Airman Jesus Abreu Laurelton Army Spec. Christopher M. Bridges Long Island City Army Reserve Pvt. Anthony C. Aya Army Reserve Pvt. Janina L. Washington Army Reserve Pvt. Bong K. Oh Army National Guard Pvt. Haydee C. Jorge Maspeth Army Reserve Pvt. Adorian Lazar Ozone Park Air Force Airman 1st Class Nizam A. Khan Air National Guard Airman 1st Class Adam G. Hults Army Staff Sgt. Juan Rizo Army National Guard Pvt. Jonathan R. Clement Queens Village Army Reserve Pvt. Carz L. Craffey Army Reserve Pvt. John C. Thampi Air Force Airman Aaron Mondie Army Pvt. Christopher J. Williams Rego Park Air National Guard Airman 1st Class Mauricio A. Gaviria Richmond Hill Army Reserve Pvt. Anthony R. Rodriguez Ridgewood Army Pvt. Jesse G. Marin Air Force Airman Joseph J. Walters Rockaways Army Pfc. Eric A. Romero Army Reserve Pvt. Houng Lee Air Force Airman Shanique I. Willis Air Force Airman Prince S. Allah Air Force Reserve Airman 1st Class Quentin C. Nichols Rosedale Air Force 1st Lt. Kwabena K.M. Atiemo Springfield Gardens Army Reserve Pvt. Perry O. Adeleye St. Albans Army National Guard Spec. Isaac S. Miller Jr. Whitestone Army National Guard Spec. William F. Petruzzi Woodhaven Air Force Airman Partick J. Driscoll Woodside Air Force Airman Jim V. Bevilacqua