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Sergeant gets extra time with son

Dec-25-2007 » Filed Under: 4/2 SBCT

UPDATE 12/26: Good news - his leave was extended and his son is doing better.

JAMES JANEGA; Chicago Tribune

CHICAGO – In what was either a Christmas Eve gift – or else the result of a logistical error – an Army unit in Iraq said Monday it had decided to extend the personal leave of a Fort Lewis sergeant whose son is in neonatal intensive care in Indiana.

Sgt. Chris Williams, 24, who has five months to go on his second tour in Iraq with 2nd squadron, 1st Cavalry regiment, part of the 4th Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division. He now has until Friday to report for duty, and after that he will be shipped back to his unit in Diyala province near Baghdad.

He had made sure his 18-day leave to Crown Point, Ind., coincided with the due date of his son, Gabriel. But days after Gabriel was born Dec. 18, the 10-pound infant got a lung infection that requires a respirator and constant care. A hospital spokeswoman Munster Community Hospital in Munster, Ind., said it was unclear when the boy would go home.

Amid the stress of a sick child, a faraway war and the holidays, Williams and his wife, LeeAnn, have spent the last week living in a hotel and huddled around an incubator, able to hold their newborn son for only 20 minutes every three hours as they feed him.

As the soldier’s family has been calling congressmen for help and local newspapers to make their voice heard, some of the confusion about the extension arose because William’s commanding officer has been out on combat operations, said 4th Stryker Brigade spokesman Maj. Shawn Garcia.

When Williams’ company commander returned to base and learned of the sergeant’s plight, he extended the soldier’s leave, Garcia said.

“That’s definitely good to hear,” Williams said Monday, as he and his wife juggled feedings, families and Christmas. “It has its good points. I have a baby now, and I was able to spend it with him, even though he was in the hospital.”

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Related Articles:

'AWOL' over sick baby - Seattle P-I

Newborn gravely ill, but dad must return to Iraq - Post Tribune


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