Ernest worried with his daughter when they didn’t hear from her husband, a warrant officer in the U.S. Army, for 42 days after the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
“You just worry, you watch the TV constantly looking for his chopper,” Ernest said.
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Ernest’s son-in-law, a 20-year military man named Ralph , warned Lisa Ginn’s son, Steven , about what he was getting into, but Steven still wanted to enlist.
“We all tried to talk him out of it,” Ernest said. “Ralph told him how tough it is.”
Ralph is now back in the United States, and Steven is in South Korea, Ernest said.
When another military mother came up to the Ginns crying, seeking support, they thought maybe others had the same need.
Ernest asked a pastor at Woodbury Lutheran if the church offered a support group for people with family members in the military. He ended up with the assignment to start one.
“There are many, many people out there that have got the same problems we do,” Ernest said.
The new group just had its third monthly meeting. The Ginns say they hope the group will offer military families moral and spiritual support, and possibly provide things like calling cards and stamped post cards.
Military families need encouragement their loved ones will return safely, said Pastor Marlin Harris, who helps coordinate the group.
“It’s just encouraging them that their children are going to be OK, and that they’re going to be OK although they might have separation anxiety,” Harris said.
Harris was on active duty with the Air Force for 22 years and has a son in the National Guard. He said his personal experience helps him reassure others.
Military Family Support Group meetings are held on the fourth Wednesday of every month at 7:30 p.m. at Woodbury Lutheran Church, located at 7380 Afton Road. E-mail wb.military@yahoo.com if you have questions about the group.
