Last year, the Barrow family passed a subdued Christmas in the
absence of son and brother, John Barrow. This year is a different
story.
Last year, the Barrow family passed a subdued Christmas in the absence of son and brother, John Barrow. This year is a different story.
After spending more than a year as an Army medic in the Anbar Province of Iraq, John Barrow will celebrate Christmas, his 21st birthday and the New Year with his family.
“Last year was quiet without him,” said his father, Mike Barrow. “It didn’t feel like Christmas.”
The Barrows stored their son’s Christmas gifts in his room until he came home for a short visit last May.
“It was like a mini-Christmas when he came home,” his sister, Amanda Barrow, 19, said.
This year, the Barrow family has big plans for the holiday. As tradition would have it, a movie-fest will commence about 5 p.m. Christmas Eve. Their favorites include “Scrooged,” “The Muppet Christmas Carol” and the classic “Christmas Carol.” Often, the movies go into the night. Each family member opens one present on Christmas Eve and saves the rest for the next morning. They are looking forward to a quiet holiday to catch up and enjoy each other’s company, a luxury they didn’t get to enjoy last year.
Since they last saw their son, he has had “quite a ride,” Mike Barrow said. “He’ll be 21 years old Dec. 28 and he’s already a decorated combat veteran.” The quiet pride shone in his eyes and his voice caught in his throat.
“I miss you guys and it was hard to say goodbye,” John Barrow wrote in an e-mail to his family upon his return to Iraq.
John Barrow was awarded the Bronze Star Medal for valor for his service to fellow troops as a medic. When his unit was patrolling an area of the Iraqi desert, a bomb exploded and he administered to eight wounded soldiers. He saved the lives of all eight, his mother, Rose Barrow, said.
The Bronze Star Medal is awarded for bravery and acts of merit. It was authorized by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt during World War II and is the fourth highest combat award of the U.S. armed forces, just above the Purple Heart Medal.
“Those kids have seen things over there I guarantee the rest of us will never see,” Mike Barrow said.
While John Barrow was overseas contributing toward the war effort, his family waited anxiously at their home on Pacheco Pass Highway for word from their son. They didn’t hear from him for weeks at a time, but lived by the old adage, “no news is good news.”
“I was tied in knots, ready to explode sometimes,” Rose Barrow said. “When he did call, I got off the phone and reacted to what he just said. You absorb everything after you hang up and the emotion just hits you.”
Although phone calls were few and far between, the family kept in touch via e-mail.
“We e-mailed because it’s quicker,” Rose Barrow said. “I e-mailed as often as there’s something to write about … you find things to write about.”
John Barrow and his fellow soldiers also received care packages and letters from other organizations. Operation Independence, a civilian-to-military delivery system that ships care packages overseas, has a local chapter in Gilroy. OI, with the help of schools, church groups and volunteers, sends boxes of cards, snacks and toiletries to platoons such as Barrow’s.
Despite the outpouring of support the Barrows have seen for their son, they are just happy to have him safe at home this Christmas.
A portrait of their son, decked out in his military regalia, hung prominently next to the Christmas tree. A large Iraqi flag was displayed beneath the portrait. An Iraqi soldier gave the flag to John Barrow.
“The paperwork he had to fill out to get that flag home was intense,” Rose Barrow said.
The Barrows weren’t surprised when their son enlisted in the Army. The family owns a company based out of the Hollister Municipal Airport that rebuilds WWII airplane motors. John Barrow grew up around airplanes and talked about joining the Navy when he was in junior high, his mother said. However, he wanted medical training and the Army offered to train him as a medic. After scoring a 97 out of 100 points on the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery, he qualified for “just about everything,” and was able to dictate what he wanted to do, said his mother.
He played football for three years at Gilroy High School and graduated in May 2005. He spent the summer after graduation lifeguarding at the Gilroy Recreation Center and went on to Fort Benning in Georgia to complete his basic training. From there, he moved to Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio where he received his medical training.
“It was easy to see where he was going with this,” Rose Barrow said. “He was a good student but got bored quickly. He likes to be challenged and he wants to be out moving around.”
John Barrow has completed his service in Iraq for now but plans to return to Fort Benning in Georgia for his Army Ranger training. He will receive specialized medical training as a Ranger that is “basically the equivalent of a field surgeon,” his mother said.
“I actually did reenlist yesterday, so my new get-out-of-the-army date is September 12, 2011,” John Barrow wrote in an e-mail to his mother. “He (Barrow’s commander) says that they need people, specifically medics and infantry, so bad.”
John Barrow spent last Christmas on a mission in the Iraqi desert. This year, his family plans on getting as much quality time out of his two-week visit as they can, before he’s back to his post in Colorado and then on to Georgia for his Ranger training.
“I can’t wait to just be together,” Rose Barrow said, as her eyes strayed to her son’s portrait and the Christmas tree twinkling in the corner.
