Parents prepare for son’s deployment

Elburn couple think about son’s pending departure for Afghanistan

by Susan O'Neill

            Kaneland graduate Joe Kasper will be on his way to Afghanistan within the next few weeks. The 23-year-old has been a member of the Illinois National Guard since 2002, when he was still in high school.

            He went through basic training between his junior and senior year, and finished between high school and college. His unit was deployed to Iraq in 2003, but Joe was still considered non-deployable until his training was completed.

            When his unit left, Joe wanted to go with them. His father, Elburn resident Tim Kasper, said he talked about volunteering.

            Tim is a high school math teacher. At 50, he was only a young boy when the country fought the Vietnam War.

            “I remember Vietnam, but I was too young,” Tim said. The draft was done before I turned 18.”

            When Joe came home six years ago after talking to the recruiter about signing up, his father cautioned him that it was possible he would end up fighting in a war. Tim explained that they were not a military family, although his father had fought in World War II.

            However, he said Joe always seemed the kind of boy who might join the military. When he came home from basic training, they could see a big difference in him. He had lost weight, and he was more confident.

            He was sent to Italy, where he was stationed to guard one of the U.S. bases. His unit was set to leave for Egypt when the orders came through for Afghanistan. They were put on alert in December, and began focusing on the training.

            His mom, Kim, said the family has had a fairly eventful year. Earlier in the year, Kim was told she had cancer. Comparing Joe's deployment with her cancer, Kim said she would rather go through the cancer.

            “I can go through the treatment, but I can't protect him over there,” she said.

            She paused.

            “He'll be doing his job,” she said. “That's how we have to think of it.”

            She said it is not as bad now, because he is still in the states.

            “Now when he calls and leaves a message, it's OK,” she said. “But if he calls from Afghanistan and we miss him, it'll be hard. They'll be in remote conditions, not at a base.”

            Tim and Kim don't know exactly when he will leave or what he will be doing in Afghanistan. His unit is an infantry brigade out of Freeport, Ill. They trained at Fort Chaffee, Ark., for a time before leaving for Fort Bragg, N.C., for additional training.

            He will be in Afghanistan for 11 to 12 months. Tim said he has to remember that there are thousands of other soldiers who have gone before and have come back home.

            According to a press release from the Illinois Army and National Guard, this mobilization is the largest unit call-up of the Illinois National Guard since World War II. It will touch employers, families and communities throughout the state.

            “They'll watch each other's back,” Tim said.

            Then he added, “We'll be glad when the year is done and he's back safe.”

            Tim said he grew up in a small Illinois town, Mt. Morris, and he always wanted his children to experience more than he did. Joe's older sister Becky studied French in school and had the opportunity to go to France. She played soccer and raised money to go to Europe to play.

            “Things I wish I would have done,” he said. “You always want better for your kids.”

            Kim, who works for Accenture in St. Charles, said she used to read everything she could find about the war, and obsessed about the news. Then one night she heard about a National Guardsman who was killed over there. She said since then, she hasn't really wanted to see the news.

            She talks to other women at work whose sons have gone to war and come home. There is also a family support group attached to Joe's unit. She said that while he is gone, she plans to write letters to him and send him packages.

            “I just hope he comes home in a good state of mind and in one piece,” Kim said. “There's always a place in the back of your mind that hopes he doesn't get hurt.”

10/10/2008