Photo By Staff Sgt. Zachary Mott | Capt. Aaron Swartz, a Lexington, Ill., native, shares a laugh with his son Senior...... read more read more
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By Sgt. Zach Mott
3rd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division
FORWARD OPERATING BASE WAR EAGLE, Iraq – After several months of failed attempts due to either weather problems, schedule conflicts or various other road blocks, a father and son were reunited, Aug. 17, 2008, in Iraq.
Army Chaplain Aaron Swartz and his eldest son, Senior Airman Brian Harding, were able to spend a few days together at Forward Operating Base War Eagle in northern Baghdad recently, each said they cherished the time together and were glad to finally meet up in a country 5,000 miles from home.
"We know it's not easy being over here, but being able to be together for a couple days helps out morale wise," said Swartz, who serves as the battalion chaplain for the 3rd Special Troops Battalion, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Multi-National Division – Baghdad, out of Fort Carson, Colo.
Harding is deployed to Joint Base Balad with the 732nd Expeditionary Logistics Readiness Squadron, which is based out of Patrick Air Force Base, Fla.
Swartz, who served as an infantryman in the late 80s to early 90s, said he's proud his three sons have chosen to follow in his footsteps in uniformed service.
Harding, who is the oldest, is due to return to his home station in September. Swartz's second oldest son, Nathan, recently completed his tour of duty in Iraq with the Army. His youngest son, Adam, is currently stationed at Fort Bliss, Texas, and is preparing for a deployment in 2009.
"I'm of the opinion, I went first. They followed me. Personally, I think they're crazy for joining the Army. I think I set the example for joining the Air Force," said Harding, who calls Janesville, Wis., home.
After Brian and Nathan joined the service, Swartz, who was in seminary at the time, said he was called by God to join up again and serve as a chaplain. After being accepted, he too joined his sons in putting on the uniform. Adam soon followed into military service as well.
"Being enlisted before, I'd served my country before. Seeing my boys kind of go the same area, do the enlisted route, it was good to see that – serving their country and doing their duty and doing that with honor," said Swartz, a Lexington, Ill., native.
The father and son are able to stay in contact through various advances in 21st century technology – namely e-mail and phone calls, but they said they only talk about every three weeks and get most of their information about each other from one central source.
"We call back to my mom on a regular basis, so we get news about each other from that way too," Harding said.
Having two sons deployed to Iraq and a third pending, Swartz said he and his wife, Sally, are comforted by the little things.
"The good thing with both Nathan and [Brian], they stayed on the FOB. That gave me a solace. I don't know if it gave Sally solace, but it gave me solace knowing that they're not riding outside the wire every day, worrying about [improvised-explosive devices]. They were both up north, which is a little bit quieter," Swartz said.
Through this common military bond, Swartz and his eldest son both said they've been able to share more with each than those that don't wear the uniform.
"I would tell them ten times more than I would ever tell Sally. I talk more about my experiences here, and they talk more about their experiences here," Swartz said.
"I guess it kind of helps having someone over here knowing what you're going through too. We don't really talk about it, but it helps," Harding said. "He understands the word 'Hooah!'"
| Date Taken: | 08.17.2008 |
| Date Posted: | 08.24.2008 12:59 |
| Story ID: | 22822 |
| Location: | BAGHDAD, IQ |
| Web Views: | 293 |
| Downloads: | 219 |
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