Coping during the holidays
Separations hard for GI families
BY JOHN ZICK THE LEADER

JASON COX THE LEADER Mary and Randy Akins Sr. pose at their home in Risingville with photos of their son Randy Akins Jr. who is currently serving with the National Guard in Iraq. At far left, a photo of the younger Akins.

RISINGVILLE - Half a world away, surrounded by uncertainty, Steuben County native Randy Akins Jr. wants only to think about his family this Christmas.

Instead, though, his head will have to be elsewhere. His life depends on it.

"I wish I was home with my son," Akins said. "He is going to be 2 years old this year. This will be the first Christmas he understands what is going on, somewhat."

Like thousands of other Americans, Akins will spend this Christmas working - in Iraq.

The 23-year-old Risingville native is deployed with a National Guard unit based in Kingston. He works with a military police battalion and has been in Iraq for five months. He hopes to return home in June.

"All of the guys (here) will be pretty busy," Akins said Thursday from Iraq. "Hopefully, keeping our minds off things. The days fly by a lot faster when you're busy."

"My mom only had one wish, and that was for both of her boys to be home, but she knew that wasn't going to happen. She is the one taking it really hard. - Randy Akins Jr.

Still, with all that's going on in his life, Akins is thinking of his family this holiday season.

"My mom only had one wish, and that was for both of her boys to be home, but she knew that wasn't going to happen," Akins said. "She is the one taking it really hard. My dad is also missing me like crazy, not going hunting."

Akins' parents surely miss their son. It's the first time he has been away at Christmas.

"It is day to day, and that's the way we take it," Mary Akins said.

This year, Mary Akins will be working like her son. She works every other Christmas.

"So that will keep me occupied," she said.

Still, though, the fear and worry always exists, even on a day that's usually considered a joyous occasion.

"His father wanted to say that he is very proud of him and that he loves him and hopes he is safe," Mary Akins said.

Like Mary Akins, Corning resident Anne Tuthill knows the fear of being a GI's mother - her son, Garrett, was in Iraq for six months with the Navy.

This year, though, her son is in the United States, working with the Navy in Mississippi.

"It's better than being in Iraq," Anne Tuthill said of her son's assignment, adding that this is just the second Christmas her son has been away from home. "Since he's in the States, we can (call him)."

Still, Anne Tuthill misses her son, especially at Christmas. Her other two children reside in the area and will be around for the holiday.

"There seems to be an empty hole," she said.

Big Flats resident Chris Hand agrees. Her son, 29- year-old Michael Hand, has served with the Army in Iraq and Afghanistan but is now stationed in Japan.

"When they're in Iraq, it's very trying," she said. "Being in Japan, it's a breath of fresh air."

Chris Hand said she and her family typically spend the holidays together, often taking ski trips.

"Your family isn't complete," she said.

It seems obvious to Tuthill to pray for the servicemen and servicewomen overseas, but she fears some Americans forget about those serving.

"We should keep the word out in the public that they're over there, even if people don't support the war," Tuthill said. "(Those serving) still need to hear from people."

Said Hand: "You thank them for their service and you just tell them you are thinking of them."

Staff writer Sarah Grossman contributed to this report.