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After four months of not standing on American soil together, Staff Sgt. John Dunlap finally joined hands with his wife and kissed his 6-month-old baby daughter at the international airport in Fairbanks, Alaska.
Being absent from the lives of his family, the two weeks of long work days during RED FLAG-Alaska 16-3 would be nothing compared to the joy of holding his only child and wife during off time.
Dunlap, a 35th Aircraft Maintenance Unit F-16 Fighting Falcon crew chief deployed from Kunsan Air Base, Republic of Korea, is working in a support role for the other 155 Airmen here for the exercise. Kunsan is a remote duty location, where families are not permitted to reside with their sponsors.
“It’s like the country song says, ‘I’ll start walking your way, you start walking mine,’” said Dunlap, referring to a love song by Diamond Rio, Meet in the Middle, which portrays two young people splitting a distance to spend time together.
Near the end of his shift, Dunlap is clearly excited to see his family for the 9th day in a row as he can barely contain a smile. He explained that he feels the excitement every minute as he hands out equipment and keeps track of every tool his unit shipped from home station.
“It’s amazing,” Dunlap exclaimed. “I’ve only spent a little more than a month with my daughter, so every second here is absolutely precious.”
Jennifer flew in from her parent’s home where she temporarily resides in Phoenix, Arizona, while the flight from Kunsan was roughly the same length of time for Dunlap. They landed at the halfway point in the Last Frontier of Alaska. A sort of “working vacation” is giving the family these “precious” moments at a fraction of the cost it would take Dunlap to visit home.
“This is our ‘old Georgia pine,’” Jennifer said, also referring to their song. “Saving the money meeting halfway is nice, but it doesn’t matter. I’d pay anything for John and Evelyn to interact and to see her smile when they are together. It’s not the same hearing his voice and seeing him on the computer. You have to be able to have that physical touch and hold a child to create a bond. A father is the most important thing in a girl’s life.”
Jennifer refers to John as “Baby” or “Love;” however, the couple’s daughter Evelyn just smiles and coos incoherent excited squeals at the sight of him. The smile on her chubby face is almost cartoonish as she waves her arms and kicks her little bare feet.
“I was scared she wouldn’t recognize him being apart for such long periods,” Jennifer said. “My heart lightened so much after I saw she warmed right up to John. That made me feel amazing knowing they got along so well, so fast. I was truly afraid John would be hurt if it didn’t go that way.”
With three more days here to cherish, the couple said every moment has been a blessing and gives Jennifer’s love something to look forward to.
“I will cry when they leave… Three more months in Korea and I will be an active dad and husband again,” Dunlap said. “I can be there every day to take in the little things I’m missing while I’m gone. I know this duty is for my country and my daughter’s future, so I know it’s worth it. I’ve made some of the best friends ever in Korea, but I am looking forward to being together again, seeing my family, smelling and experiencing everything in person rather than thousands of miles away.”
| Date Taken: | 08.11.2016 |
| Date Posted: | 08.15.2016 17:41 |
| Story ID: | 207182 |
| Location: | EIELSON AIR FORCE BASE, AK, US |
| Web Views: | 20 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, ‘Meet in the middle’ brings love together, by TSgt Shawn Nickel, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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