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April 3, 2003
Amy Johnson keeps tabs through television
By JOHN BOZZO | News-Journal Staff Writer
PORT ORANGE — Amy Johnson snaps small plastic tires into place on a toy truck for her 3-year-old son, Max, but her eyes stay riveted on television for news from the war.
"It seems like it's been going on forever," she said of the war in Iraq that's only 2 weeks old.
Her husband, Jay, is stationed with the Crazy Horse Troop of the Army's 3rd Infantry Division, currently moving on Baghdad.
Amy planned to call a local church Wednesday to ask about a support group for families with loved ones serving in the war zone. She said it might be helpful to talk with others going through the same emotions.
Max walks away, talking and laughing. He wasn't talking when Jay shipped out in January, and Amy regrets how much her husband has missed.
The news can be comforting when she hears about her husband's unit. But reports about a week ago that Jay's unit was in combat for 72 hours straight made her nervous.
"I don't know if it's good or bad," Amy said of the war coverage she admits to watching constantly.
She waits for reports by a correspondent attached to her husband's unit. "Whatever he's going through, they're going through," she said.
But it all got to be too much last weekend, so she bundled up Max and her other son, Jaycob, 9, for a trip to visit friends in Georgia.
Amy said she's not sure how much the boys understand about the serious nature of war and the dangers their father faces in the combat zone.
"I don't think they worry as much about their dad's safety as they just miss him," she said. "My youngest, Max, brings me the cell phone and asks me to call Daddy. He doesn't understand. He just knows Daddy's away."
Max walks back to his mother as the television announcer talks about the possibility of street fighting in Baghdad. Amy pulls Max on her lap and embraces and kisses her son.