Military family deals with worry amid pride

LORRINE THOMPSON, THE OLYMPIAN

Originally published Sunday, March 10, 2002

THURSTON COUNTY -- It was an amazing sight after a long wait.

The family of Navy fire crewman Christopher Salzer traveled from Olympia to Bremerton last month to meet him as his aircraft carrier, the USS Carl Vinson, arrived home.

The Carl Vinson had spent months near Afghanistan engaged in battle, sending fighters and bombers away on missions.

Salzer was sent to join the fire crew of the carrier after it had been deployed near the central Asian country.

"I just heaved a big sigh of relief" that he was coming home, said his grandmother, Joanne Johansen, who has three grandchildren in the military.

The family waited in the cold with about 15,000 people for the ship to arrive.

"I tell you, when that big old ship came around, flying that big flag, I just got really weepy," said Johansen, 68. "To think of all these kids coming home."

About 3,000 men stood in dress uniform on the deck of the ship, waiting to greet their families.

"It was just beautiful," she said.

Sept. 11 and the war that has followed have meant both worry and pride for Johansen's family, as well as the reality that family members might be directly involved. Two other grandchildren are Marines based in North Carolina.

Johansen said she watches international events carefully.

"I personally feel they need to get back in there with those airstrikes on those mountains. When we were doing that, we weren't losing personnel," she said.

She worries that it's a conflict that might go on for a long time.

"I don't know how it can end, because those biblical wars, those territorial wars, go on forever," she said.

Things are different

But Johansen said she supports U.S. military action.

"Under the circumstances, I don't think there was any choice," she said.

She also said she notices life has changed.

"I'm not going to fly for a while," she said. "I know I couldn't make myself get on a plane. There are too many scary things going on."

But she also notices a greater appreciation of peaceful events and family.

Although she's not a sports buff, Johansen nevertheless found herself eagerly following the Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City.

"It shows the rest of the world that we can still come together like that," she said. "It was a strong showing of unity."

And she finds herself on the phone more often.

"I feel like I contact my family and children more often," she said. "I think that life and loved ones have become more important to my everyday well-being."

Johansen traces it back to the attacks.

"I still feel kind of haunted by what took place on Sept. 11, and I think most Americans do," she said.

The loss of so many husbands and wives and children still fills her with sadness.

"I think Americans have taken the opportunity to feel close to their own families," she said. "To appreciate what we have, and who we are."

[an error occurred while processing this directive]

The Olympian Copyright 2002

back to Sept. 11, 2001 index