Published on December 17th, 2004.
Viewed 1905 times.
Story rank of 336.
Uzbekistan, Kyrghztan, Africa, Kuwait, Iraq... not even 3 years of both of us being separated between all these countries can hold us down!
My name is Sergeant Jeremiah Clark and my fiance's name is Staff
Sergeant Billie Jo Kittle. This is our story...
We met in 1997. I remember the first time I ever danced with her.
It was at the Marine Corps Birthday Ball, and we were just friends.
It remained that way for almost 2 years, we really hit it off as good
friends and had a blast together. I think I was always attracted to
her, but thought she was "out of my league", and so we remained just
friends. Both of us are United States Marines and had been stationed
in Cherry Point, NC as our first duty station after graduating from
our occupational school in Pensacola, FL.
I had arrived at Cherry Point almost a year before her, and it just
so happened that we were assigned to the same crew. We are both Air
Traffic Controllers and work shifts, so it was after running after
work one night for physical training, we found ourselves to be the
only ones left in the parking lot. I still don't know how it
happened, but after two years of us being best friends somehow I let
slip that I had feelings for her. We were just talking and it came
out. I hadn't even realized that the feelings I had for her were more
than just as friends until a few days earlier. Apparently, she felt
the same way. And so began a roller coaster relationship.
We were together all the time and continued being best friends when
it came time for me to re-enlist. I had to get orders to another
base, and so I chose Beaufort, SC because it was the closest. We
quickly realized how being separated by a six hour drive can affect a
relationship. It was hard, but we had no idea what was yet to come.
She re-enlisted also, and got orders to Beaufort as well. Whew!!
Finally back together after a year of being apart. The difference
was, now we were in a deployable unit.
It started out simply enough.... two months for me in California for
training from January to February('01). A month for me in Arizona in
October('01). Two more months in California from January to
February('02). We were both out there this time, though, and knew
that 9/11 had changed everything. Then it began.
We were on leave after our deployment to the California desert and
enjoying ourselves on a snowboarding trip in WV, which is where she is
from ( I grew up in Virginia) I received a call putting an end to our
leave and to our good time. I was told to report back to base for an
immediate deployment. The date was March 15th('02), which is also her
birthday. To this day she calls it her worst birthday ever.
Given the current attacks on 9/11, we both thought immediately that I
was going to Afghanistan. After reporting back to base I learned thatI was in fact going to Uzbekistan, a country I had never heard of, in
support of Operation Enduring Freedom. I left rather suddenly without
being able to tell my her or my family where I was going due to
security reasons. Six months we spent apart, me in the desert and her
still back stateside. We had little to no phone or internet use,
almost all communication was by snail mail. The mail took sometimes
5-6 weeks for a letter while others were just lost in the system. It
was really hard not being able to talk to each other for that long.
Five months later......... I had 3 weeks before I left Uzbekistan to
come home when I found out she was deploying to Kyrghztan, also in
support of Operation Enduring Freedom, and that our planes would
probably pass somewhere over the Atlantic. She was leaving as I was
going home. Just our luck. Two days before going home, and having
already spent six months in Uzbekistan, I was asked to go directly to
Kyrghztan for another six months because they needed me there. The
decision was entirely up to me, and I could have gotten on the plane
in two days to fly home and not see the love of my life for an entire
year. I decided to go directly to Kyrghztan so that I could just see
her. The very next morning I left for Kyrghztan and waited for her to
arrive. Oh yeah, she had no idea what I was doing. I let her
continue to think that we wouldn't see each other for another six
months. She was so very surprised when I met the military transport
plane and she got off and saw me standing there. It was worth another
six months of sand, bad food, horrible temperatures, and more sand
just to see her eyes light up like that!! Luckily for the both of us
the deployment was much shorter than anticipated. We ended up back in
the states in October('02). She had spent 35 days or so "in country",
and I had almost nine months deployed from home.
Being back home together was everything we imagined, and I planned on
buying a ring and proposing. Much to my dismay I was called back out
overseas in December('02) after only spending 2 months at home.
Needless to say, Christmas was ruined. This time Africa was the
destination. It was going to be very difficult. Communication was
much better this time, however. We talked on the phone for about
twenty minutes almost once a week. We also were able to email each
other with some regularity. Then she was sent to Kuwait for the
beginning of the war in March('03). So much for any communication at
all. I was worried sick and unable to contact her in any way. I
didn't even know exactly where she was. No phone calls, no email, not
even snail mail kept us in touch. Luckily, her deployment ended
earlier than expected and she was sent home in May('03). I returned
from Africa in June('03) and bought a ring. I had intended to propose
right away, but it didn't work out quite like that.
I was supposed to get out of the Marine Corps after eight years ofservice in February of 2004. It was a few weeks before Christmas last
year that she found out that she would be deploying to Iraq the same
month that I was supposed to get out. The very minute that she told
me this my mind was made up. I know that I probably couldn't do
anything to stop her from getting hurt, but I was going with her. I
went to our unit commander and requested to go. They desperately
needed people and so they let me extend my contract to go to Iraq.
Just like that I had ten more months of service and was going to war.
She wasn't happy about my decision because she didn't want to see me
in harm's way. But I was determined. Everyone else called me crazy.
I played her a song on my guitar that I had written for her while in
Africa just before she said "yes" and made me the happiest man in the
world. It was two days before Christmas('03). Our families were very
excited about our engagement, but worried about us going to Iraq. I
knew that we would be alright.
February('04) came and we left, spending a long six months in the
deserts of Iraq. We didn't see each other much, but I always made
sure I found her whenever we were attacked to make sure that she was
ok. She didn't like that because I was up and moving around, but I
had to know. Never have I felt the relief of landing back in Kuwait
and knowing that no one there is going to shoot a rocket or a mortar
at us. I think that being together in Iraq may have been just a
little more frustrating and scary than if I were to have stayed
behind, living in ignorance of what was happening in Iraq. It's tough
when you can't show any affection at all to each other. We were able
to steal away just out of sight to hold each other's hands and a short
peck on the cheek from time to time. But those were times few and far
between, not to mention very short.
We arrived back in the states late this past August('04), and have
never appreciated life or our love more. Our relationship has had
probably the most uniquely trying situations I have heard of. But we
have persevered and it has brought us closer than we would have known
possible. True love like ours will always prevail, and we are living
proof. We're both convinced of that. Now for the biggest adventure
yet, the wedding....
Thank you for your time and the opportunity to share our story.
Sgt Jeremiah Clark
United States Marine Corps
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