Brandon Twp.- Joe and Karla Dean have spent much of the past year holding their breath? when they watch the news, read the paper, and hear of soldiers killed in Iraq.
Perhaps most of all, as the parents of Army Spc. Dylan Dean, they hold their breath when they see a strange car come up their driveway.
‘That is how we would find out if something bad happened,? says Karla Dean. ‘They don’t send telegrams anymore.?
Soon, the Deans, who also are the parents of Noah, 24, and Logan, 16, will be able to breathe freely again, without worry of whether their middle son is safe. After a one-year deployment to Iraq, Dylan Dean is expected to arrive in the U.S. Oct. 2 and be back home by Nov. 10.
The Deans won’t be the only Brandon residents celebrating a son’s homecoming on that day.
Brenda Westfall has shed many tears since her son, Army Spc. Billy Westfall, was deployed Nov. 8, 2005. She and Billy’s stepfather, Gary Martin, along with Billy’s brothers, Brian, 26, Kyle, 15, and Jordan, 12, traveled to Pope Air Force Base at Fort Bragg, North Carolina to watch him leave. On Oct. 27, they plan to be there again, as he lands on U.S. soil.
Dylan Dean and Billy Westfall both graduated from Brandon High School in 2003. The close friends joined the Army together in April 2004 and went through boot camp in Fort Sill, Oklahoma for 14 weeks. Dean remained in Fort Sill until being deployed, however, whereas Westfall went to Fort Bragg.
Brenda Westfall knew it was a possibility her son could be deployed to Iraq. Several times they heard he was going to be and then when he was finally given papers, she knew for sure he was going. But it wasn’t until she was driving to North Carolina to say goodbye that it finally became real.
‘I’ve been a basketcase ever since,? says Westfall, crying. ‘I just told him I loved him very much and to be safe. It’s been a roller coaster.?
Westfall sits now at her kitchen table, with a scrapbook filled with photos of Billy. Behind her is the computer which she uses to communicate with her son daily. She says the computer has kept her sane and wonders how military families in past wars did without it. The longest she has gone without contact with Billy has been about eight days, on a few occasions.
She uses Instant Messenger to talk to him, although it can be stressful.
‘We’ll be instant messaging and he’ll say, ‘incoming,? or ‘mortared, I gotta go,?? she says. ‘It’s extremely nerve-racking.?
Stationed in Tikrit, Billy Westfall has been part of a convoy escorting supplies and fuel. He did travel to Baghdad one day, however, to look up Dylan Dean, who is stationed there, also a convoy driver, running night missions.
Dylan Dean is in the main camp in Baghdad, just two blocks from Abu Ghraib prison. He is in danger, says dad Joe, but knows that freedom doesn’t come cheap.
‘You raise your kids and give them all the tools necessary to go through life, and probably the greatest thing a man can do is to actually give his life for the freedom of others,? says Joe Dean. ‘His job right now is to make the world a better place. Both of them (Dylan and Billy), all of them that are over there, that is their job.?
The two families are grateful for all the support they have received from the community and for the care packages sent to Dylan and Billy. They have mixed feelings on the conflict in Iraq, but both families say they stand behind President Bush.
They do worry that their sons will be deployed again, even though their service in the Army is scheduled to end next year.
Joe Dean says having his son serving in Iraq has reinforced his faith and he has spent a lot of time on his knees praying.
‘He’s 22 years-old, but I still imagine him as a baby,? he says. ‘I just want to hold him.?
Soon, he should be able to do just that.
Dylan is looking forward to homecooking and going with his family to the summer cabin they’ve been building in Grayling.
He and Billy will both enjoy three weeks of leave time, some of which will also be spread over Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Brenda Westfall will make nachos for Billy, which he has been craving. She imagines their reunion.
‘I’ll be crying, but this time, tears of joy,? says Westfall, smiling in anticipation, even as tears fill her eyes. ‘I’ll hug him and kiss him and tell him how proud I am.?
The day can’t come soon enough.