Jim Morgan
03/24/03, 04:44 AM
Central Jerseyans stand vigil for loved ones
By CRISSA SHOEMAKER
Staff Writer
Published in the Courier News on March 22, 2003
Judy Mead-Morgan has been glued to the television set since the United States Wednesday night began dropping bombs on Baghdad.
She's searching for signs of her son, Jeffrey Mead, a Marine who -- at last contact -- was stationed near the Iraqi border in Kuwait.
"Of course I'm worried," said Mead-Morgan, a Bridgewater resident. "I've been praying for all our troops, my son especially. My prayers in the morning and at night are, 'Please God, take care of my son and our troops.' Let's hope this is swift and brings few casualties to our side."
Mead-Morgan and other families of Central Jersey servicemen and -women are praying for the safe return of their loved ones overseas and are hoping for a swift end to the military conflict in Iraq -- a conflict about which they have mixed emotions.
"I'm actually pro-war," said 15-year-old Jim Morgan, Jeffrey's brother and a sophomore at Bridgewater-Raritan Regional High School. "I think it's the right thing to do. If we didn't act now and try to disarm Saddam, he could have unleashed stuff onto us, and by then all the people would be, 'I wish we disarmed him while we had the chance.'"
His mother, who last heard from 24-year-old Jeffrey through a postcard sent Feb. 22 and received this week, isn't quite so sure.
"I'm very mixed, to be honest, very mixed feelings," said Mead-Morgan, whose oldest son, Robert, was discharged from the Navy before the conflict began. "But I think we're doing the right thing. I think Bush has handled this as well as he could."
In South Plainfield, Hipolito Rivera also has tuned his television set to the war coverage, waiting to hear where the USS Truman is headed. His 23-year-old son, Richard, is an airman stationed aboard the aircraft carrier.
"I support the men that are doing their job," Rivera said. "I don't necessarily support war. But I do support the troops that are there. They're under orders to do a job. I support the job they're doing. Not necessarily the president's decision to go to war.
"My personal opinion is I believe he (President Bush) had to finish something that his father started," Rivera explained. "I don't know. They continue to say they have proof of this, proof of that, but it seems like a lot of countries don't have that proof. I'm really tossed on that. We have to support the president in order to come out there fast and safe."
Richard Rivera, a 1998 graduate of South Plainfield High School, left the United States three months ago on a six-month tour. Hipolito Rivera is now unsure when his son will return to the home he shares with his father and stepmother, Carmen.
"He says he's doing fine, everything is fine," said the elder Rivera, who last heard his son's voice about a month ago, when he was able to call from France. "As far as he looks at it, the three months, he was halfway through his cruise, he was looking forward to coming home in three months."
Angela Hayes of the Somerset section of Franklin hasn't discussed the possibility of going to war with her son, Nelson Whitted-Hayes, 18, a member of the U.S. Air Force who is in technical training school in Texas.
"I keep telling myself he's not going anyplace," Hayes said. "I didn't want him to worry about that right now. I wanted him to focus on finishing tech school."
But Hayes is adamant that she does not support the war.
"I think it's a senseless war," she said. "I just don't see the reason for it."
look! its me! :)
By CRISSA SHOEMAKER
Staff Writer
Published in the Courier News on March 22, 2003
Judy Mead-Morgan has been glued to the television set since the United States Wednesday night began dropping bombs on Baghdad.
She's searching for signs of her son, Jeffrey Mead, a Marine who -- at last contact -- was stationed near the Iraqi border in Kuwait.
"Of course I'm worried," said Mead-Morgan, a Bridgewater resident. "I've been praying for all our troops, my son especially. My prayers in the morning and at night are, 'Please God, take care of my son and our troops.' Let's hope this is swift and brings few casualties to our side."
Mead-Morgan and other families of Central Jersey servicemen and -women are praying for the safe return of their loved ones overseas and are hoping for a swift end to the military conflict in Iraq -- a conflict about which they have mixed emotions.
"I'm actually pro-war," said 15-year-old Jim Morgan, Jeffrey's brother and a sophomore at Bridgewater-Raritan Regional High School. "I think it's the right thing to do. If we didn't act now and try to disarm Saddam, he could have unleashed stuff onto us, and by then all the people would be, 'I wish we disarmed him while we had the chance.'"
His mother, who last heard from 24-year-old Jeffrey through a postcard sent Feb. 22 and received this week, isn't quite so sure.
"I'm very mixed, to be honest, very mixed feelings," said Mead-Morgan, whose oldest son, Robert, was discharged from the Navy before the conflict began. "But I think we're doing the right thing. I think Bush has handled this as well as he could."
In South Plainfield, Hipolito Rivera also has tuned his television set to the war coverage, waiting to hear where the USS Truman is headed. His 23-year-old son, Richard, is an airman stationed aboard the aircraft carrier.
"I support the men that are doing their job," Rivera said. "I don't necessarily support war. But I do support the troops that are there. They're under orders to do a job. I support the job they're doing. Not necessarily the president's decision to go to war.
"My personal opinion is I believe he (President Bush) had to finish something that his father started," Rivera explained. "I don't know. They continue to say they have proof of this, proof of that, but it seems like a lot of countries don't have that proof. I'm really tossed on that. We have to support the president in order to come out there fast and safe."
Richard Rivera, a 1998 graduate of South Plainfield High School, left the United States three months ago on a six-month tour. Hipolito Rivera is now unsure when his son will return to the home he shares with his father and stepmother, Carmen.
"He says he's doing fine, everything is fine," said the elder Rivera, who last heard his son's voice about a month ago, when he was able to call from France. "As far as he looks at it, the three months, he was halfway through his cruise, he was looking forward to coming home in three months."
Angela Hayes of the Somerset section of Franklin hasn't discussed the possibility of going to war with her son, Nelson Whitted-Hayes, 18, a member of the U.S. Air Force who is in technical training school in Texas.
"I keep telling myself he's not going anyplace," Hayes said. "I didn't want him to worry about that right now. I wanted him to focus on finishing tech school."
But Hayes is adamant that she does not support the war.
"I think it's a senseless war," she said. "I just don't see the reason for it."
look! its me! :)