MARINE CORPS BASE HAWAII -- A blond hair, blue-eyed, 6-year-old boy lies on the couch watching cartoons while his 2-year-old sister, who looks identical to her big brother, plays with the family dog and occasionally glances to the television to see what is on.
Although it is difficult to tell by the way they are relaxing while waiting for their mom to tell them its time to leave, they know it’s a big day – daddy is coming back from Iraq.
Their mother, Kerri Wilson isn’t as calm as her children. She anxiously cleans items off of her counter, and then walks back and forth from the kitchen to the living room, trying to find things to keep herself busy. She picks up the phone to call a couple of other Marine wives to let them know their husband’s flight will arrive at 11:15 a.m. vice 11:45.
“I’m so nervous,” the blue-eyed woman said as she rubbed her stomach. “I can’t sit down. I get anxious.”
October 5 was the day Kerri and her children had been waiting seven months for. That day her husband Sgt. Adam Wilson, who is with Lima Company, 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, is scheduled to return to the island.
There were three flights that brought 3/3 Marines home from Iraq last week. One arrived around 8 p.m. Oct. 4 and one arrived in the early morning hours of Oct. 5. Kerri was at all three of the arrivals.
“I only got about two hours of sleep last night,” she said laughing. “I got up at 5 a.m. and was dressed and ready to go by 6 a.m. I was waiting for everyone else to wake up so I would have someone to talk to.
“Time is flying by though,” she said. “I am trying to keep busy.”
Kerri had some company during her last couple of days of counting down. Adam’s parents Tim and Malia Wilson and his Uncle David “Dave” Wilson flew in Sept. 29 to be here for the homecoming.
As the children snacked on some crackers, Kerri and her father-in-law stood in the kitchen reminiscing about Adam’s time in Iraq.
“This time it was harder,” Tim said. “When he was in Afghanistan he seemed safer.”
As Kerri listened, she nodded her head in agreement.
“When you get the call that someone died, then you get the call that he is OK, it’s bittersweet,” Tim said somberly. “You are glad your son is OK, but you know that someone else has lost their son.”
“It broke my heart when a Marine from his unit died,” Kerri added. “I’m done. Three deployments in three years … I’m done.”
Kerri said her children are done too. She said her son Carter carries around a Bible – the camouflaged type that are usually given to Marines at boot camp. His father gave it to him before he left on deployment.
“He sits and reads it like he knows what it says,” she said. “One day he looked at me and said, ‘I want Daddy to come home.’”
This deployment was nothing new for the Wilson’s. This is the second deployment Adam has been on with 3/3 since arriving in Hawaii two years ago. He was in Afghanistan from November 2004 to June 2005, and then went to Iraq in March.
Adam also deployed to Bahrain with 1st Fleet Antiterrorism Security Team from Norfolk, Va., from November 2003 to May 2004.
Glancing to the clock on the wall, Carter said “small hand on the 10, little hand on the three.”
“That’s right,” Kerri said. “When the small hand is on the 10 and the little hand is on the three, that means we are going to leave.”
Since the plane was scheduled to land at 11:15 a.m., Kerri wanted to get the family to the hangar an hour early.
The time seemed to tick by slowly. Carter gave up on the cartoons and put on his helmet so he could go outside and ride his skateboard, while Molly again began to wrestle with the dog.
“It’s been hard,” the home daycare provider said. “But, I am lucky. I have a wonderful husband who knows it is hard for me too. When he calls, the first thing he asks me is how I am doing.”
At a little after 10 a.m. Kerri couldn’t sit still anymore, “Let’s just go now.”
The family made their way to the hangar. Banners welcoming the troops home lined the inside, and chairs were already beginning to fill with excited people who were waiting for their loved ones to arrive.
As the family of six walked into the hangar, Carter and Molly ran immediately for the bounce house and began to play while Kerri spoke with a couple of wives she knew. Malia watched her grandchildren as they played.
As they waited in the hangar, they heard that the fight was landing later than expected. Disappointed, Kerri tried to find people to talk with to make the time go by faster.
“It doesn’t feel real yet,” Kerri said.
An hour passed, and the family moved to the front of the hangar and stood waiting for a sign that the plane was in the area. The sound of the U.S. Marine Forces, Pacific Band echoed in the background.
“Come on half hour,” Kerri said tensely.
Uncle Dave held a camera and Tim a camcorder. They all continuously looked at the sky for the plane. Off in the distance, a white plane could be seen turning toward the base.
The crowd erupted in cheers. Some began to cry while others clapped. Kerri looked to the sky, smiled and wiped tears from her eyes.
“Finally,” she whispered.
She leaned down and picked up Molly so she could see.
The Marines exited the plane one by one. Kerri, Tim, Malia, Uncle Dave, Carter and Molly scanned the sea of Marines looking for Adam.
“Is that him?” Kerri said pointing to a Marine and looking at her mother-in-law.
“I don’t know. I can’t see if it’s him,” Malia responded.
Then he appeared out of the crowd of Marines. Smiling, he walked over to the fence that was keeping the crowd from running onto to the flight line.
He leaned over the fence as he hugged and kissed his wife and grabbed his son. He hugged Carter tightly as he made his way through a sea of Marines to the inside of the fence where he was able to greet his family.
Kerri met him at the entrance of the fence. Adam held Carter in one arm and lifted Kerri with the other. As he hugged both of them tightly, he walked toward the rest of his family.
After many hugs and kisses, Adam walked his family to their car then left with the rest of the Marines in his unit to turn in his weapon.
Kerri smiled as she got into her car.
“I feel so much better now.”