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Noah Perri is my brother:
http://www.trentonian.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=11783187&BRD;=1697&PAG;=461&dept;_id=44551&rfi;=6#TOP
The cost of war: Local guard prepare for trek to Iraq
SCOTT FROST , Staff Writer 05/25/2004
EWING -- Some cried, some stood proud, some are going to be too young to even remember the day their father or mother headed off to war.
Everyone, however, invited to yesterday’s Farewell Picnic for soldiers headed to Iraq by October were uncertain of their future.
"I'm scared," said recruit Noah Perri, 21, of Blackwood, as he chomped on hamburgers and played with his potato salad at yesterday’s mobilization preparations cook out at the National Guard facility at the West Trenton Airport.
"They said I’d never ship out. Actually they said it’s highly unlikely."
Perri joined the Army for an education, but growing conflict in Iraq has postponed those dreams.
His 13-month-old son, who shares his namesake, enjoyed a quiet time, taking a nap on his father’s chest for most of luncheon, but grew cranky as dad started biting into his food.
Perri’s wife, Michelle, tried to calm the infant, as she too tried to get some food down, but Junior’s high-pitched screams interrupted her meal -- prompting the young woman to fear for her future.
"The worst thing about it is I’ll be away from him," Perri said of his son. "I haven’t been away from him since he was born."
"I’m just p---d off," said Michelle, who was too upset to say anything more.
Today is the start of a long road ahead for some 1,900 soldiers of the New Jersey National Guard set to head to the Middle East by the start of the summer.
Four thousand more are said to be following by October.
It wasn’t the last day to be with the family before shipping out although the aura felt that way yesterday.
The soldiers will spend five to eight months training at Burlington County’s Fort Dix -- where their specific jobs will be discussed and where they’ll learn how to deal with a hot Iraqi summer in the sand.
By October, they’ll be in Iraq.
Their tour is scheduled to end after 12 months.
"It’s all new to me," said Jacqueline Ganie, whose oldest son, Spc. Joseph Bethea, 27, heads to Fort Dix today, while her youngest son, Spc. Courtney Bethea, 25, heads to Westfield next week.
"I try my best to keep an eye on everything," Ganie, of Ewing, said. "But I’m more on the worried side. I’m proud to some extent, but we don’t know who they are fighting against."
Ganie understands her sons will not be home for Christmas to be with their children -- including two-month old Makaya who was in attendance yesterday or the unborn child of Courtney’s.
Ganie never thought war was in her future when her boys went looking for an education and instead found themselves getting prepared for battle.
Where Ganie’s a rookie, Tricia Millevoi, of Richboro, Pa., is a total pro.
Her husband Chris is a 22-year-old veteran of the Army and recently spent his first time away from the family during a four-month tour in Panama.
"Your life goes on. You’ve got to be upbeat," Tricia said, noting Chris will probably miss her son, Nick’s, graduation from Temple next May. "Last year was hard."
When asked if she was going to miss her husband, she said, "Are you kidding? The bathroom is going to be so clean."
"And the toilet seat will be down," Chris joked.
©The Trentonian 2004
( Picture of Noah and the baby that was in the paper with it )
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