By Keith Gushard
Meadville Tribune
MEADVILLE —
Having one child serving in the military in Iraq or Afghanistan may cause both pride and anxiety for a parent — but for Mark and Lori Putman of Atlantic, those feelings are three times greater.
Three of their six children are in the military — with the three each doing tours in either Afghanistan or Iraq during 2009.
And this is the first summer in several years the three military siblings have been able to get together face-to-face for a couple of weeks. The Tribune caught up with the family recently at Pymatuning State Park.
Daughter Jessica Putman, 33, a medic with the U.S. Air Force in Oklahoma, was at a forward base in eastern Afghanistan in 2009. Her assignment at the military hospital in Khwost City, Afghanistan, was teaching Afghan medics first aid.
Son John, 30, a topographer (or map maker) with the U.S. Army at Fort Hood, Texas, was stationed near Taji, Iraq, while son Matt, 23, an infantryman and vehicle driver with the Pennsylvania Army National Guard’s 56th Stryker Brigade at Cambridge Springs, also was in Taji during a recent National Guard deployment.
In fact, John and Matt’s paths crossed at the base at Taji last spring. Matt had finished a 72-hour mission and he was sleeping in temporary quarters when there was a knock at the door.
“The door busted open and John walked in,” Matt said. “There were a lot of hugs and handshakes.”
While neither parent said the kids’ military service has caused them sleepless nights, there is a noticeable sense of anxiety when talking to the elder Putmans.
“You pay attention to the news with a lot more heightened interest,” said Mark Putman. “Your thoughts are always with them.”
“You don’t worry about one more than the other,” their mom, Lori Putman, said. “It’s easier to take since they’re home.”
Communications with parents during their overseas tours was tough for the three since they each were thousands of miles from home and at or near the front lines. Communicating by e-mail rather than by phone was the easier method, but computers were not always readily accessible for the Putman kids.
Plus, there were military restrictions on what could be told.
“You can’t tell them anything before you’re going on a mission,” Jessica said. “(Afterward), you don’t want to tell anything that will scare them. You reassure them by telling them everything is fine and you’re fine.”
“I’d just tell them ‘something interesting happened north of Baghdad (today) and to watch the news,’ ” John said.
John admits, though, that he wasn’t very good at communicating with home, even when he had access to a phone.
“I’m quiet,” he said with sly smile.
Mrs. Putman said all three children don’t talk about their service much.
“They’ve not shared a lot,” she said.
There is one story though that has them all smiling.
It’s when Matt got a traffic ticket in Iraq — for speeding.
“I didn’t think it was possible,” Matt said. “I was driving a humvee (a transport vehicle) doing 65 (miles per hour) in a 45 zone.”
Matt got six points on his military driver’s license for the incident. A maximum of 12 causes a license suspension.
But that wasn’t the worst of it, according to Matt.
After his sergeant learned of Matt’s ticket, the two took a slow walk around the base.
“Every speed limit sign he saw, we stopped and he made me do that many pushups,” Matt said. “It was 25 here, 15 there, 25 again. It was a long walk — and my arms were tired after that.”
Being part of the military is something Jessica, John and Matt all said is something they want. Their grandfather was a World War II veteran, having served in the U.S. Army Air Corps.
“I wanted to be part of the Air Force ever since I can remember,” said Jessica, a 15-year veteran of the Air Force who joined in 1995 right out of high school. She intends to put in 20 years.
Like Jessica, Matt joined the military at 18 and has been a member of the Army National Guard since 2005.
“I’ve loved military stuff since I was little. I was always drawing pictures of planes and tanks,” Matt said. He, too, hopes to retire from the military.
John joined about 10 years after high school, signing up with the Army in 2007.
“I was a bit later in life,” he said. “One of the reasons, I was looking to get more education and I thought this was a good way to do it. I also like to travel.”
A common thread running through each of the children and their parents as well is pride.
“When we all got together and went to church recently, our grandfather was there proud and Mom and Dad were proud,” Matt said smiling. “It’s a unique feeling to be part of a select group of people — veterans.”
“I’m just so proud of them and what they’ve done,” Lori Putman said. “It makes simple things like patriotic music that much more touching when I hear it.”
Mark Putman said he often gets questions from strangers about which service branch he’s more loyal to when he’s seen wearing an Army jacket with an Air Force hat.
“I tell them I’ve got two in the Army and one in the Air Force — I’m supporting both,” he said with a grin.
Keith Gushard can be reached at 724-6370 or by e-mail at kgushard@meadvilletribune.com.
