By jennifer dome
Staff Writer
VERONICA YANKOWSKI Deidre Vidro and her son, Eddie, of Sayreville, await the safe return of their respective husband and father, U.S. Army Sgt. Heriberto Vidro, who is currently serving in “Operation Iraqi Freedom.”
While most Americans watch TV to get updates on the war with Iraq, some families instead wait anxiously for the phone to ring, hoping for a word from family members abroad.
Deidre Vidro and her youngest son, Eddie, have been waiting for the phone to ring since March 18, the day before the war began. This was the last time they heard from U.S. Army Sgt. Heriberto Vidro, Deidre’s husband and Eddie’s father.
Before the war began, the sergeant was able to call his family by cell phone from Kuwait. The last phone call from him came at about 4 a.m. March 18, which was about noon in Kuwait.
"I just basically try to do one day at a time and keep myself focused," Deidre Vidro said from her home Monday evening.
VERONICA YANKOWSKI Eddie Vidro holds an Easter card that his father sent from Kuwait.
Heriberto, 41, has been an Army reservist for 22 years. Recently, the sergeant received notice from the Army stating that he is now eligible for retirement.
"If he was home, he could actually tell them, ‘So long, good-bye,’ " Deidre said.
Heriberto called his wife from Consolidated Edison power company in New York, where he is employed full time, on Halloween with the news that he was being called up.
"He said ‘I just got activated,’ " Deidre recalled, adding that she could not believe the news when she first heard it.
CHRIS KELLY Third-grader Eddie Vidro salutes the flag his father, who is serving overseas with the U.S. Army, sent to students at St. Stanislaus Kostka School in Sayreville.
Heriberto came home the next day with his orders and left two days later for the Fort Dix Army base, where he spent the next month preparing for his deployment. He was then sent to Kuwait the day before Thanksgiving with the 773rd Transportation Company, based in Fort Totten, N.Y., Deidre said.
Although Heriberto is trained in combat, Deidre said that the last she knew, her husband was serving as a fuel hauler.
Since then, she and Eddie, 8, have tried to continue their normal, daily routines. Eddie, a third-grader at St. Stanislaus Kostka School in Sayreville, just saw the end of his basketball season and will begin playing soccer soon. Deidre is a nurse at a public school in the Bronx, N.Y.
Deidre and Heriberto, who have lived in the borough for six years, also have a 20-year-old son, Treston, who is enrolled at Ithaca College in New York, and a 21-year-old daughter, Wilma, who is married and lives in the Bronx.
Nevertheless, the routine has changed since Heriberto left because the family spends a lot of time communicating with him overseas. In addition to their communication by cell phone, Deidre said that she and Eddie send a lot of letters and cards to Heriberto.
"I just made him one today," Eddie said on Monday.
Heriberto also has other means of entertainment, and a connection to his way of life in the states, Deidre said. The troops have been able to dine at an Applebee’s in Kuwait and have even indulged in treats at a Baskin-Robbins ice cream parlor. The family also said they have sent at least 50 DVDs to Heriberto, who is able to view the movies from a laptop computer.
"His spirits are good," Deidre said.
However, Deidre and Eddie frequently send Heriberto’s favorites, such as Frosted Flakes cereal, the newspaper, sports magazines and other items over to Kuwait, where he was last stationed. Deidre said she even sent party favors for Heriberto and his fellow troops to celebrate New Year’s Eve.
"I just mailed $45 worth of packages on Saturday," Deidre said, smiling.
She and Eddie will also send an hour-long video tape to Heriberto, through the military’s Hearts Apart program out of McGuire Air Force Base. The program allows all families of activated soldiers to send a tape with anything they want featured on it, Deidre said.
Besides missing her husband and waiting for his safe return home, Deidre said the hardest part about Heriberto being away is that she is thrust into being a single parent.
"It’s a big adjustment," Deidre said.
Eddie attends St. Stan’s after-school care program so that Deidre can remain at work and then get home to take him to basketball or soccer practice.
Thankfully, the community of St. Stanislaus Kostka Church and the school has been a big help to the Vidros. Deidre said the school has sent numerous cards from the students over to the sergeant, thanking him for his dedication to his country and praying for his safe return.
"St. Stan’s Church has been phenomenal. They really helped make Christmas special for Eddie," Deidre said of the holiday that came and went without Heriberto being home. "They’ve been a pillar of strength for us."
Heriberto recently sent an American flag that flew over Camp Arifjan in Kuwait on Dec. 24 to the students at St. Stan’s. Principal Harriet Samim said the students pledge allegiance to the flag, which is displayed in the cafeteria, every morning.
One reason Deidre is so thankful for St. Stan’s support is because she may rely on them even more in the future.
Deidre, 45, is also an Army reservist and serves as a major in the 11th Battalion, 98th Regiment, based out of Fort Devins, Mass. She works as a nursing instructor for the Army’s licensed practical nurse program.
While her unit was placed on alert, she said she does not know when, or if, she will be called to active duty.
"They could call a day from now, a month from now, a year from now, [or] never," Deidre said. She added that Eddie would stay with his grandparents in Puerto Rico this summer if she is sent away.
For now, Deidre and Eddie, as well as their extended family and friends, will continue to pray for Heriberto’s safe return home, hopefully sometime soon.
Until then, Heriberto’s next phone call home will have to do and, as they wait, Deidre said she simply wishes "for all the soldiers to return home as quickly as possible."