Subject: [NEXTEL-1] "It's kind of amazing to get a call from your son in Iraq on Nextel in the middle of the morning,"

From: Marcel <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 10 Apr 2003 14:57:59 -0400

'MacDaddy Chad' helps ease his mother's concerns about war in Iraq

By Christopher Tittel 04/10/2003

 Miss Judy, Brook and Frank Elliott pose with Chad's niece, Victoria, at the
First Baptist Church Child Care and Learning Center.  Tie a Yellow Ribbon is not
the only thing on continuous play in Miss Judy Ellott's life these days. As the
cassette deck in her office cues up for yet another round of the Tony Orlando
classic, serious concerns about her eldest son's well-being return again and
again.

Chad Elliott is currently serving on the front lines in Iraq."I'm proud of all
the troops and respect what they're doing and thank and admire them for their
bravery," she said. "I'm very proud of my son."

The director of the First Baptist Church Child Care and Learning Center took
time out from her daily duties to talk a bit about her special hero. Chad was
born in Pontiac, Mich., on April 28, 1975. He was raised on Marco Island,
attending both Tommie Barfield Elementary and Lely High School. Miss Judy said
that Chad has always been the type of person who likes to be in charge, so much
so that family members often referred to him as "MacDaddy Chad" when he was
growing up.

She also said that Chad has always been somewhat of a ladies' man. Miss Judy
recalled a family trip to Orlando several years ago, when the young, handsome
and well-built Chad drew an unusual amount of attention from a group of foreign
girls who were staying on the same floor of their hotel. So much attention was
being paid to Chad that, to this day, his mother suspects that the girls were
mistaking him for a famous personality in their own country.

"They were actually camped out at the elevator waiting to see him," Miss Judy
said with a laugh. "He said that he didn't want to go out into the hall because
they were just waiting for him. They wanted to take his picture!"

Upon graduating from high school, Chad enrolled in the University of Central
Florida and eventually earned a criminal law degree. He amazed everyone when he
decided to enlist in the U.S. Army right out of college. "It was kind of a
surprise," Miss Judy said. "He was never the ROTC type. I guess he saw it as a
good opportunity. I'm just glad that he's now doing what he wants to do."

Frank Elliott, Chad's younger brother by less than a year, was also surprised at
Chad's turn in life. "When we were in high school, nobody thought that he'd be
doing what he's doing now," he said. Chad served his first military tour in
Hawaii. After re-enlisting last year, he was transferred to Germany and then to
Kuwait. He currently serves on the front lines in Iraq as a second lieutenant in
the U.S. Army, 3rd Infantry, 2nd Brigade. Miss Judy's last phone contact with
her son was at the end of March. He told her, for obvious reasons, he couldn't
be more specific about his location other than that he was south of Baghdad.
Knowing that a CNN correspondent is embedded in his unit, Chad's mother keeps a
close eye on the 24-hour news network for updates on the possible whereabouts of
her son's brigade.

"The coverage is great," she said. "I'm watching CNN, Fox and MSNBC." Randy
Elliott, Chad's father and owner of RCE Contractors of Naples, last heard his
son's voice on the telephone about a week ago.

"It's kind of amazing to get a call from your son in Iraq on Nextel in the
middle of the morning," he said. "The last conversation we had, he was within
sight of Baghdad airport."

Miss Judy received a letter from Chad earlier this month. In the correspondence,
dated March 18, he wrote that he would most likely finish out his current tour
of duty in 2005 and start a family.

As phone calls and letters trickle in from the front lines, the miracles of
Internet technology afford Chad the opportunity to communicate with his family
on almost a daily basis. He recently e-mailed home to request a long list of
supplies, including stamps, envelopes, laundry soap, baby wipes, sun screen and
junk food. He also asked for rolls and rolls of toilet paper, which Miss Judy
said is apparently like gold to the troops.

Frank recently received a message from Chad, who wanted his younger brother to
know that the company that makes his favorite video game had recently come out
with a new piece of game equipment.

"You see," Frank recalled his brother's high-spirited message as reading, "even
though I'm in a war, I keep up with new stuff."
Chad has also expressed great eagerness in seeing just how much his one-year-old
niece, Victoria Berec, has grown since he last saw her.

"He always asks about his new niece," Miss Judy said. Although everyone prays
for Chad's safe return home, there's an overwhelming sense of pride shared among
family members as he serves overseas.

"When it's your own son over there," Randy said, "you can't help but be proud."
"I have a new respect for Chad and the military, seeing them on television
standing proud no matter how tired they may be," Brook Elliott said.

Chad's younger sister also mentioned how good it was to see images on television
of U.S. troops dancing on tanks, entertaining Iraqi children as they jump up and
down with glee around them.

"They're still in good spirits," she said. "It makes me happy that they're
representing my country."
In the initial days of the war, Miss Judy was a self-proclaimed basket case.
Caught in the media crossfire like so many other Americans -- with haunting
images from the battlefields of Iraq on the television screen one minute and
overhead shots of giant crowds of antiwar protesters filling the streets of
world capitals the next minute -- what Chad's mother has been seeing and hearing
has stirred a powerful mix of emotions.

"I can see why the Iraqi people might feel the need to fight, because it's scary
for them," she said. "And I don't like the term 'friendly fire.' I mean, what's
so 'friendly' about an accident? They should call it 'I'm sorry fire' or
'mistake fire.' And protesters make me very angry, especially when you consider
the fact that they're redirecting the attention of our law enforcement
authorities away from homeland security matters. It's okay to be against the
war, but please support our troops."
Chad heard the anxiety in his mother's voice during one of the first phone calls
from the battlefield.
"Mom, don't worry," Miss Judy recalled him as saying. "MacDaddy Chad has
everything under control."
She paused and smiled. "It touched me that he remembered that."

http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=7659612&BRD=2256&PAG=461&dept_id=455823&rfi=6

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