Another call to duty

Deepa Bharath

“Mom, I don’t want him to go!”

The young girl hugged her mom, who put her arms around her

daughter and nodded with empathy.

“But he’s our neighbor, mom!” the girl persisted.

Then she ran over to the front yard to join the other kids from

the neighborhood who were playing with red, white and blue balloon

hats.

The star-spangled banner fluttered atop a freshly painted, white

flagpole. Little paper flags were planted firmly in pots that stood

at the entrance to the home. Inside, kids ran around thumping the

hardwood floors as “God Bless the USA” cascaded from a boom box.

But in less than an hour, the laughing and chattering would stop.

Everything would come to a shocking standstill when Victor Bakkila

bid farewell to friends and family before walking away into what

could well be a war zone.

News of the 36-year-old Costa Mesa Police detective’s military

deployment hit family members March 8 when Bakkila got his papers.

“I had no clue I’d have to leave on such short notice,” the Army

reservist said. “It came from out of the blue.”

The Newport Beach cul-de-sac was lined with police cars and

motorcycles Friday as his friends and colleagues in blue stood in a

circle with Bakkila, just talking and wishing him luck on his

mission.

Bakkila will be the first Costa Mesa Police officer to go to war

if he actually gets as far as the Persian Gulf. Bakkila left for San

Jose on Friday afternoon to join the rest of his unit. They would all

go to Fort Louis, Wash., and leave from there.

His mother-in-law, Cathy Crook, put together the little

celebration in honor of Bakkila hours before his flight.

“I’m trying to hold myself together,” she said, with deep emotion.

“It’s really tough, but we’re all very, very, proud of him.”

Bakkila’s wife, Corey, smiled as she greeted friends.

His daughters Blake, 8, and Baylee, 5, chatted with the woman who

was making their balloon hats.

But then Blake was pulled away for a minute for a television

interview. Her friends gasped.

“Look! Blake’s going to be on TV!” one exclaimed.

When Blake came back, blushing, they asked her what she told the

reporter.

“I said I’m proud of my dad,” she replied.

“You did?” another girl piped up.

“Yeah, why shouldn’t I be proud?” Blake asked with authority,

still in a friendly tone of voice.

Her friends seemingly agreed.

The first thought that crossed Blake’s mind when she heard her dad

was leaving was when he would come back, she said.

“I wanted to know how long he’d be gone,” she said, toying with

her balloon hat. “I’m sad, but I know he’s leaving to help our

country.”

Corey Bakkila will keep smiling to keep things normal for her

girls, but life won’t be the same. Being the wife of an officer, she

is knows of the inherent risks of her husband’s job. But going away

to war is different, she said.

“He won’t be home at the end of the day,” she said, throwing a

glance at her husband.

But Corey said she believes in the need for war, which makes it

easier for her.

“I want our army to take out Saddam [Hussein],” she said.

“Besides, I know Vic can handle it. He knows what to do. He’s had his

training.”

Bakkila, who has been with Costa Mesa Police for about six years,

also doubles as a sniper for the department’s SWAT team.

As time went by, Bakkila made the rounds to say his goodbyes. He

hugged his daughters, joked around with friends and said farewell to

his neighbors.

“I’m taking a lot of family pictures,” he said. In his wallet are

pictures of his daughters and in his shirt pocket, a five-inch-long

wooden Madonna.

“A priest gave it to me in basic training,” he said, holding up

the statuette.

His five sisters have also given him St. Matthew’s prayer,

believed to protect soldiers at war.

Neighbor Julie Hovnanian was a staunch supporter of President Bush

and his stand against Iraq.

“But now I wish it weren’t happening,” she said. “We live in a

little bubble in this community. Now the issue has hit close to home

for me. It makes it more difficult.”

His neighbors and family members call Bakkila an “All-American

guy” who can be “depended on with your life.”

“He’s just always there for you,” said brother-in-law Pete Rogers.

“He’s the glue that holds our family together. He’s the one that

organizes family picnics, the first guy to get there and prepare the

food. And he’s still there to clean out afterward. Just an amazing

guy.”

His buddies at the department hung around until the end when the

Bakkilas were ready to leave for the airport.

“He better come back soon,” said Sgt. Clay Epperson. “He’s my

surfing buddy and we were planning a trip to Costa Rica in the fall.

I can’t go without him.”

Four motorcycle officers and several patrol cars, in a show of

respect, escorted the Bakkilas out of the small, residential street.

“He’s our brother,” Lt. Karl Schuler said, as he watched the small

procession of cars leave. “We’re going to miss him.”

* DEEPA BHARATH covers public safety and courts. She may be

reached at (949) 574-4226 or by e-mail at deepa.bharath@latimes.com.