Sons of Indiana in Iraq

Joe Hornaday
Greensburg Daily News

Fri, May 16 2008

— When the Army’s 76th Infantry Brigade left the United States for deployment in Iraq, Greensburg residents Diana and Luca Young were forced to say good-bye to their hero, SSG Francis Young.
Young met his wife Diana in Germany after performing military duties in Operation Desert Storm. She was a native born German citizen who had a friend that was in the same unit of which Young was a part. While placing a call to her friend, Young answered the phone.
“There was something about his voice,” Diana Young said.
According to her, the two talked for hours into the night, and since then they have been together.
“That was 17 years ago,” she noted. “And we’ve been married for 15 years.”
Diana Young never envisioned moving to America, and her whole family stayed behind in Germany.
“Home will always be home,” she said. “ But this is my home too. I like it here. I like the people and the mentality of everybody.”
She knows that it was her husband’s service in the military that allowed the two to meet and eventually get married and have their son.
Young’s 21 long years of military service have included several years of active duty and time in the National Guard. Throughout his life, Young has lived in Indianapolis, Colorado, Germany and Texas. Since his 4-year-old son Luca was born, he has been called away from home three times for military duties. Spending all of that time away from home would be difficult for any family, but the Youngs manage to cope.
“We spent hours on the Internet talking this week,” Young’s wife said.
Young and his fellow soldiers have just recently been given Internet access. He called his family to let them know that the connection had been established, which immediately began a long conversation on the Internet. The quality of communication is less than perfect, but for the couple, any communication is better than nothing.
“I see him and he sees me,” she said. “We can hear him, but he doesn’t hear us.”
Diana Young added that a laptop with a webcam was one of the best investments she had ever made. She was glad to be able to see her son talking to his father and to see the two of them making faces at one another.
With the lines of communication now open, the void left by Young’s departure has filled somewhat. Still, the Young family has found the recent good-byes difficult. The massive soldier exodus from the RCA Dome in early January proved to be an emotional farewell.
“I was unable to drive afterwards,” Young’s wife said. “He was with us in the stands until the ceremony started. Luca was unable to go, because he would not understand that daddy’s not going to come back. It was very emotional and I was proud, but not happy that he had to go. The hours seemed like a century. You feel like it may be the last time you see each other, and the fear will always be there.”
After departing the RCA Dome, the 76th brigade headed to Fort Stewart in Georgia for mission-specific training. When Young was given a four-day pass to visit with family, Diana and Luca headed off to meet him.
“We were just hanging out in Georgia,” she said.
While visiting, the family went even farther south to spend time at SeaWorld in Florida. Their original plans were to spend one night in Florida, but the Youngs ended up spending one more day there to have fun as a family. According to Young’s wife, military families were getting into SeaWorld for free.
“I want to go there again,” Luca added.
The Youngs do plan to visit both SeaWorld and Disney World when their hero returns. Young Luca remains excited about both the trip and the idea of seeing his father again, but his mother admits that he occasionally has rough days with the absence of his father.
“He has bad days when he doesn’t understand that daddy’s not coming home right away,” she said.
To help Luca deal with the absence of his father, his mother has put a picture of the soldier at the dinner table so the family still has dinner together. She also uses a globe to show Luca where his father is in the world, as he serves the country.
“Francis is a soldier by his heart,” his wife said. “He was a soldier when we met, and I knew it was his life. He stands behind his country and he is very proud.”
She wished to thank the American Legion and her friends and co-workers who have all supported her through the trying time. Young’s mother Betty Young continues to pray for her son and remains very concerned, just like the rest of his family.
While little Luca may not fully understand the details of his father’s service in Iraq, he knows enough to understand that being a soldier is his father’s duty.
“Daddy’s at work,” he said sadly.

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