War forces some mothers to spend special day without children

Published 12:00 am Monday, May 12, 2003

For Jane Griffith and others, this Mother's Day will be a mixture of warm memories, pride and parental satisfaction. It will also be spent alone.

Griffith knows she will be getting a phone call. It will be from her only son reaching out across the miles to his mom on the special day.

"I have a sense of peace that a lot of mothers in Ironton won't have this Mother's Day," Griffith said. Her son, Staff Sgt. Jason Griffith, has made it home from the war in the Middle East. He is now safe and sound in Fort Campbell, Ky.

Even though he won't make it back to Ironton to see her, Jane Griffith is thankful.

"I feel better he's here (in the United States). I sleep at night now. I used to average two or three hours of sleep a night. When he was gone there was this emptiness, no matter how many people I was with, or what I did, my body was there but my mind was not," Griffith said. "The minute I heard his voice and knew he was on his way to Fort. Campbell, I went to bed and slept around the clock for two days straight."

Jason Griffith is serving in the 391st Military Police Battalion at Fort Hayes near Columbus. With six years of military service behind him, the Ironton native has his sights set on an eventual move to the U.S. Secret Service. He has served tours of duty in Kosovo, Guatemala and El Salvador. Coming from a family with a proud tradition of military service, Griffith is supportive of her son's career choice.

"He's had six promotions in six years," Griffith said. "He's reluctant to talk about his commendations, but I'm proud of him."

Like Griffith, Alberta Wilson of Ironton will depend on the telephone to connect with her son, Sgt. Michael Shannon Wilson.

"He was over there nine months, but he's back in the United States now," Wilson said. "It's the best Mother's Day present, just knowing he's safe." Michael Wilson saw combat on the front lines in Iraq. He returned to the United States in late April. He now makes his home in Georgia. Wilson hopes her son will bring his wife and children home in December. It's been two years since he made it back to Ironton.

Like Griffith, Wilson said she stayed close to her television set during the war.

"I turned it on the first thing when I got up in the morning, and if I went some place, I turned it on when I got home," Wilson said.

Wilson has been through wars before: her oldest son, Kenny served in Operation Desert Storm. But she is quick to tell you no matter how many times a child goes away to war, a mother never stops worrying and never gets accustomed to seeing them wave goodbye.

"It's very nerve wrecking. I hardly slept. I worry about all my children. Even though they're grown, you never stop worrying about them."

Like Griffith, Wilson will wait by the telephone for that Mother's Day call.

"I'm proud of him, Wilson said. "I'm proud of what he did for his country. I'm glad he's home safe. I'm praying every day for the rest of them to make it home safely to their loved ones, too."