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March 20, 2003
Young sons cry ‘Don´t hurt my daddy’
By JOHN BOZZO | News-Journal Staff Writer
PORT ORANGE — Amy Johnson tries to keep the TV war news from disturbing the lives of her two young sons, whose father is an Army soldier in the Kuwaiti desert heading toward Iraq.
But she knows that Max, age 3, and Jaycob, age 9, are aware of the unfolding conflict.
"I'll hear him (Jaycob) in his bedroom playing and he'll say, 'You're dead, Iraqi soldier. Die. Don't hurt my daddy,' " she said.
Johnson, 33, said she didn't talk about the war Thursday morning with her sons, although she had watched reports on television late Wednesday about the outbreak of hostilities.
"I'm just trying to keep the same daily routine going and keep it positive for them," she said.
The ordeal for the Johnson family began Jan. 15 when Jay, 38, an active duty Army staff sergeant stationed at Fort Stewart in Savannah, was deployed to Kuwait. Amy had taken Jaycob to Poland at the end of December for experimental treatment for cerebral palsy and they missed Jay's departure.
Her husband wrote letters and called home regularly until about two weeks ago, when his unit began moving closer to the Iraqi border.
"I'm nervous, scared, worried, not knowing what's going on," she said. "It's hard for the kids. They don't understand why he doesn't call any more."
Amy said she finds comfort in the hectic routine of two jobs and shuttling children around, but misses the support system of being in a military community. The family moved here four years ago because she has other family in the area.
"There's no one else here going through this," she said. "On a base, you're used to having everybody going through the same thing. We'd talk to each other and help each other through it."