Reunited feels so good

Lolita Harper

At 3:05 a.m. Friday, 2-year-old Connor Spence was fast asleep in his

Costa Mesa home -- his mind wandering wherever toddlers’ thoughts

travel in the wee hours of the morning. But 45 miles away, at Camp

Pendleton Marine Corps Base, one of the little boy’s dreams was

coming true.

It was at that moment that his father, Staff Sgt. Charles “Cass”

Spence, was marching through a cheering welcoming committee after a

four-month tour in the Middle East. It was then that Cass Spence

found his wife, Carrie, in a crowd of rowdy well-wishers and held her

tight.

After a long plane trip, an hour bus ride and four months of an

emotional roller coaster, Spence let go of the war-torn Iraqi desert

and embraced his family.

“I missed you so much,” Cass Spence said to his wife, holding her

close.

After minutes of a loving embrace, Cass Spence greeted the rest of

his anxious family. His sister Colette gave him a big hug and patted

his right shirt pocket, where their mother had left a parting gift in

January.

“Is your Bible in there?” she asked.

He answered with a knowing nod. Mother Corinne Spence patted her

son’s middle, which had shrunk since she had last seen him.

“Look at how skinny?” she said.

“It’s called the stress diet,” Spence answered.

The civilians in the Spence family underwent their own stress

while Cass was away at war. Night after night for four anxious

months, Corrine Spence prayed for her son. Chuck Spence, his father,

followed the news closely and read the newspaper intently. Sister

Colette Spence fought her urge to write her brother a letter -- a

superstitious promise she had made before he left, meant to bring him

home safely. Carrie Spence went about caring for her newborn and her

household while fielding questions from Connor about his father’s

whereabouts.

The Spence family began preparing for his arrival when they heard

the good news last week. Carrie Spence spruced up the house, having

it cleaned and painted, and stocked the fridge with her husband’s

favorite food and drink.

“I have beer, steak and the remote control just waiting for him,”

she said Tuesday.

Corinne Spence said she was preparing plenty of welcome-home grub

and had pieced together her most patriotic outfit to wear at his

homecoming. Her ensemble included a red, white and blue cap and stars

and stripes socks. She was welling up with pride about her son’s

service.

“I have to tell you, I am so excited, I am crying with thrill,”

Corinne Spence said.

Days of waiting became hours, and the family left for Camp

Pendleton on Thursday night at 11 p.m. The Spences joined hundreds of

people carrying balloons, banners and cameras in a desolate parking

lot on the Marine base at midnight.

Loved ones were told their Marines had flown into March Air Force

base and were loaded onto buses headed for Camp Pendleton. Once on

base, they needed to return their weapons and file paperwork before

greeting their families.

At about 12:30 p.m., a caravan of buses was spotted on the road

above and the sleepy crowd awoke. Cheers erupted, whistles and fog

horns sounded. The mob looked anxiously up the road for their

homebound Marines.

At 1 a.m., members of Echo company marched down the road and into

a swarm of revelers.

After the first wave of tearful reunions and excited embraces, the

rest of the crowd settled back into their lawn chairs for the next

company to come through. It was an hour before the second wave of

service men and women made its way down and the excitement swelled

and ceased, again.

The crowd waited patiently. Mothers held sleeping children,

brothers rested their weary heads in their sisters’ laps, and time

ticked on.

After another hour, Cass Spence’s Golf company marched in. Even

after the men were dismissed, it seemed nearly impossible to find

Cass Spence in the sea of camouflage.

“Where is he?” Carrie Spence asked.

A minute later, he tapped her shoulder, and she turned and melted

in his arms.

“I am just kind of locked right here and I don’t want to go

anywhere,” Cass Spence said.

After a joyous reunion, Cass Spence said he was anxious to get

home. He and Carrie Spence walked to their car, but were stopped

along the way. Various Marines called out to their commanding

officer, introducing Cass Spence to their parents, wives and

children. Mothers hugged him and fathers gave him a hearty handshake,

thanking him for his service and leadership overseas.

“I told you he’d be back,” Cass Spence told one man.

Cass Spence put an arm around his wife’s shoulders as they walked

and pulled her closer.

“I am so happy to see you,” he said.

The young couple headed home, where they would join up with their

two small children, whom Cass Spence had not seen since the end of

January.

“I can’t wait to see Connor’s face when he wakes up and sees his

dad for the first time,” Carrie Spence said. “He is going to be so

excited.”