Queens Families Pray For Safe Returns

As an American citizen, Joyce Butler is torn. She supports the war effort, believes in freedom and wants to see terror stopped. However, as the mother of Thomas Butler, a 29-year-old soldier from Astoria, she desperately wants a peaceful resolution so her oldest child can return home as soon as possible.
The e-mails have waned and phone calls have come to a complete halt, and now she paces the floor and frets about her first-born son. She is the same as mothers, wives and family members across Queens and across the world who pray for quick resolution.
"I was nervous when he first joined the Army," Joyce said. "I support what were doing, but its hard when youre a mother. I miss him very much, but Im so proud of him."
Thomas joined the service when he was 18, following the Gulf War. He was in the Air Force for eight years and in the Army reserves for the last three. When he found out that he was going to be sent to the Middle East, he grew excited about the chance to defend the country he loves. "He was gung-ho about going over there," said Kim Butler, Thomas younger sister. "I try to be a calming influence to my family, but its scary, especially when you watch everything on the news. You never know whats going to happen. Were just waiting until he comes home and steps off of the plane."
Before his mobilization to Kuwait in February, Thomas, wed girlfriend Joanne, who is waiting for him in their home in Washington D.C.
The Butler family is treated to an occasional e-mail from Thomas but responses are brief and subject to restrictions as to his actual location. They have been told is that he is stationed at a military police base, where POWs will be held.
In other parts of Queens, more families worryabout a couple of Seabees, Mark Kurtz and Paul Franco. Both firefighters, the two are Navy Seabees, a group called to Iraq to build airstrips, develop roads and create concrete bunkers to shield troops against missile attacks.
Kurtz, a 36-year-old father of three, joined the Army after high school and has spent the last three years in the reserves. Before the war, theWhitestone resident fought fires at Ladder 23 in Harlem.
Being a Seabee is a family tradition for Kurtz, preceeded by his grandfather in World War II and father John, a retired captain. Kurtz has told his family that the Seabees work in a team much like that at the firehouse.
"After 9/11, we thought something would happen eventually," said Mikes wife Mabel, holding back tears. "Mike is a great believer in America and what it stands for. He is behind our country and will do whatever is needed to do."
Mabel says her husband is a great father, courageous fireman and a big kid. "He is very easy going and laid back," she said. "But get him to talk about a topic he has strong feelings about, and youre in for a battle."
Mabel has not told her children their father is overseas and tries to keep them away from the onslaught of news. They do know that their father is away to help others and that they should respect the American flag which hangs in their backyard, even if they are not yet aware of the bloodshed to protect their nation throughout the years.
Another member of the nine-man Seabee team of the Naval Mobile Construction Battalion is Paul Franco of Bayside. A member of the NYPD for four years, Franco switched to the FDNY, after he volunteered with his older brother Frank. They assisted with rescue and cleanup at the WTC. He now works out of Engine 76 in Morningside Heights. His wife Jennifer, mother Peggy, and his siblings Frank, Dori and Jill say theyre all "worried sick about Paul, but believe he is doing the right thing."
"Ive lived through Hitler and I lived through Stalin," his mother said. "This man is another of the same ilk. Im not for war, but it seems people like Saddam Hussein do not understand anything but force. Pauls father was a sergeant major and he would be proud of what his son is doing."
While proud, Peggy is also frightened by the horrors of war. She is just one of many loved ones who will be waiting anxiously for the war to end, and their loved ones to return.