Marine watches birth of first child on day two of deployment

Photo By Cpl. Katherine Solano | Sgt. Bunnarath Gnoy, the heavy equipment chief with Alpha Company, Combat Logistics Battalion 1, 2nd Marine Logistics Group (Forward), stands among his unit's construction vehicles after a day spent on a worksite in Helmand province, Afghanistan, Nov. 23. Gnoy proudly carries a placard with his newborn son's name attached to his rifle every day.  

CAMP LEATHERNECK, AFGHANISTAN

12.03.2011

Story by Lance Cpl. Katherine Solano 

II Marine Expeditionary Force   

CAMP LEATHERNECK, Afghanistan - Sgt. Bunnarath Gnoy, the heavy equipment chief with Alpha Company, Combat Logistics Battalion 1, 2nd Marine Logistics Group (Forward), knows what it is like to be away from family for long periods of time. He is currently on his fourth deployment. He and his wife of two years have perfected the art of long distance communication.

But now, Gnoy has to learn how to parent from thousands of miles away. His first child, a son named Aiden, was born when Gnoy was in Afghanistan.

It was day two of his unit’s time in Afghanistan. The phone call came that his wife was going into early labor.

“She was supposed to be due on the 24th so I didn’t expect it at all,” said Gnoy, a native of Lowell, Mass. “I called the hospital and told them I was in Afghanistan and they got me right on the phone with her. I asked her to ask the doctors if she could use [wireless internet] in there. They said yes, so I was on the webcam, just watching. I got to see the whole thing.”

Nine hours and a few dropped internet calls later, Gnoy was able to maintain a steady connection and witnessed, as firsthand as possible, the birth of his son.

“When I saw the head, I thought, ‘I don’t know what I’m going to do.’ Then the baby came out, and I saw him before my wife did,” Gnoy said, the hint of doubt erased from his face as he recounted meeting his son. “The doctor kept re-angling the computer. So he came out and the doctor showed me and said, ‘Here is your son’.”

Gnoy described how he knew his life had changed then. He said that all the pride he felt in the Marine Corps couldn’t compare to being a father.

Two months into his deployment, Gnoy maintains a positive attitude, despite missing the birth of his child by a few days and a few thousand miles. He looks out for his Marines and continues to learn about his job, but is always counting the weeks until he is reunited with his family.

“He will be seven months when I get home,” Gnoy said. “I think that’s when the baby starts to sleep through the night, so I’m going to miss all the bad stuff. I told my wife, ‘when I get home, you can take seven months off if you want’.”

• Date Taken: 12.03.2011
• Date Posted: 12.04.2011 06:11
• Story ID: 80880
• Location: CAMP LEATHERNECK, AF