Gilroyans Mia and Chris Eaton have spent the holidays over the past year thinking about their son, a U.S. Army sniper, who at any given point could have been laying prone in hostile territory in Afghanistan.
On Thursday, Thanksgiving Day, Brent Eaton is coming home after a nine-month deployment.
A 22-year-old Gilroy native, Brent left Dec. 25, 2012 for Afghanistan and returned to the states in September. Since then, he’s been in El Paso, Texas getting help from the Army and readjusting to civilian life at Fort Bliss, receiving assistance on everything from college applications and resumes to undergoing mandatory mental and physical evaluations.
“They’re teaching him how to drive again too,” Mia says, laughing. “There are no road laws in Afghanistan. (Brent) said if you think there’s something in the road, you just go in another lane and beep your horn.”
Chris will pick his son up in El Paso and the two will make their way home to Gilroy by car, hopefully arriving in time to sit down and enjoy a hot meal with loved ones who say they’re beyond grateful to have Brent home, safe and sound.
“I’m just overwhelmed with joy and gratitude to God that he brought (Brent) home safely and in one piece, with his mind, his body and all of his friends too,” Mia said. “I can’t even imagine having him home and being able to be a family again.”
“I have such an ultimate respect for those that served, for them and their families,” she continued. “The family is also deeply affected (by military service) – not just the parents – but grandparents, aunts and uncles and everybody. Even all those friends who were always thinking of him and asking about him. It’s something that’s really overwhelming.”
Brent’s uncles, aunts, cousins, grandmother and his 92 year-old great-grandmother will all be joining the welcome home feast.
“We’re going to make him turkey and we’re just all going to be together,” Mia said. “It’s just going to be wonderful to have the whole family all together and be able to enjoy each other. You really cherish those times when you don’t have them for a few years, you know.”
The events of Sept. 11, 2001 inspired Brent to serve his country – despite the fact he was only a fifth-grader at St. Mary Elementary School in Gilroy.
“He was, at that time, called to serve in his heart, I believe, by God,” Mia said. “And he never wavered.”
After finishing elementary school, Brent attended the Oakwood School in Morgan Hill followed by San Jose’s Valley Christian High School, where staff tried to talk Brent out of joining the Army.
“They tried to talk him out of it, saying he was too smart to do that and that he’d end up having a job at McDonald’s when he came home – all this negative stuff,” Mia recalled. “On his 17th birthday, he made me go down to the recruiter’s office.”
She recalls telling her son that she supported him 100 percent, but he would have to wait until he turned 18. And he did.
“He took the aptitude test and they told him he could be whatever he wanted to be because he placed in the 90th percentile,” Mia said. “He told them he wanted to be a sniper but they said you have to earn that; it’s not something you can just choose to be. But if you work hard at it, it’s possible.”
From an early age, Brent loved to hunt duck, deer, elk and quail.
“You name it, he hunts it,” Mia said. “It was such a perfect fit. It was a calling – it was like his whole life led up to this and that’s what he wanted to do. He graduated and off to boot camp he went.”
While in Georgia at boot camp, Mia said Brent’s commanding officers quickly noted his marksmanship skills.
“One thing led to another, and he was a sniper,” she said.
Part of the menu for returning veterans is a re-integration program, where service members take classes on how to prepare a resume or college application. At this point, Brent has hopes of attending college in Texas and plans on pursuing a career in law enforcement.
“He’s pretty excited about the next chapter of his life,” Mia said. “He’s going to stay home from now until the fall and work. Then, he’s going to go to college in the fall and start living this nice, safe life – a nice safe life that he fought for.”
