Two Sons Overseas for the Holidays

Patch's Carol Parker asked three Island mothers of soldiers to share their thoughts about having a child in the military.

Part I, an interview Renee Kellogg whose son Ryan joined the U.S. Army when he was 20, is here. 

In Part II, single mom Jane Fellows talks about what it is like having not just one, but two sons overseas for the holidays.

When her son Kenny announced to her, while in his senior year at Alameda High School, that he wanted to fight terrorism and enlist in the U.S. Army, single-mom Jane Fellows took it hard.

While she understood why he wanted to go, she worried for his safety.

He enlisted in September 2008 and four months later Jane’s worry was magnified when Kenny’s identical twin brother, Shaun, followed in his brother's footsteps, joining up as well.

Their mother’s worry was not misplaced. While in Afghanistan, both came close to losing their lives.

Shaun, a combat engineer, was on a mission with fellow soldiers traversing over an unfamiliar route. He had been in Afghanistan 11 months by then and was due to leave a month later. Suddnely he heard sniper shots and watched in horror as one of his friends was shot and killed just feet in front of him.

“It could have been Shaun, so easily,” Jane said. “While I was saddened by the loss of his friend, in the moment all I could think about was how grateful I was that my own son was alive.”

Shaun lost two buddies in Afghanistan and wore bracelets that had belonged to them for a long time. Later he got a tattoo in remembrance of one of them.  

Kenny, a cavalry scout, had his own near brush with death when an improvised explosive device (IED) went off at close range.

“The whole time they were in Afghanistan,” Jane said, “I was on pins and needles. Anytime the phone rang I would react.”

Despite their close encounters with enemy fire, both Kenny and Shaun have re-enlisted. Kenny will be serving for four more years and Shaun for another six.

Jane said her sons have always scored high on world history tests that involved wars and when young they loved to visit the U.S.S. Hornet docked in Alameda. Her own father served 30 years in the Navy. "The military is something that has always interested them," she said.

To cope, Jane said she tries to keep busy. She works in the food services department of the Alameda Unified School District and she volunteers with Operation Mom, a nonprofit organization that supports the troops. “Whenever I need someone to talk to in the middle of the night I call my dear friend Denise from Operation Mom,” said Jane, explaining that only another mother going through the same experience can fully understand what it is like to have a child at war.

On Sunday, Jane will spend her first Christmas without either of her sons.  Neither will be able to come home on leave from Germany, where they are currently stationed and where they coincidentally live in barracks just yards from one another.

“Being identical-looking twins,” said Jane, “and being in such close proximity to each other now they have been known to play tricks on their fellow soldiers from time to time.” She is happy the boys can at least be together for Christmas this year.

Though her sons are away for the holiday, Jane said she is relieved they are not in combat zones at the moment. She tries not to think about what the future will hold and the years of worry that lie ahead of her now that both Kenny and Shaun are making a career out of the military.

While she is enormously proud of them and it is always wonderful to see them when they come home on leave, their visits home are bittersweet because she knows she will be saying goodbye again soon.