Part III: A funeral and a birth (3 of 7)

Part III: A funeral and a birth
By Sharon Cohen - The Associated Press
Posted : Wednesday Aug 6, 2008 20:57:01 EDT

The Ferris wheel at the Minnesota State Fair offered a bird’s-eye view of an end-of-summer, middle American ritual. From the top, you could see the places where 4-H kids showed off their prized hogs and cows, where farmers ogled gleaming tractors, and where throngs lined up for food-of-every-kind-on-a-stick.

Robert and Kathy Hanson had walked the midway, had seen the sights. And they were on their way home, in their car, when the cell phone buzzed.

It was the military, and what the officer would not say spoke volumes about their son, Josh, on duty in Iraq. Something was terribly wrong.

Robert knew if Josh had just been injured he’d get details on the phone. But the caller had news that had to be delivered in person.

Gripping the wheel, Robert didn’t know whether to hurry home, or slow down and delay the inevitable.


Rest of article at: http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/08/ap_longdeployment_080608/



uhc comment: Part one --> http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=259x16600
Part two --> http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=259x16628