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Committed (Part 2): Sergeant returns home to expecting wife

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Kenny Holston
  • 20th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
SHAW AIR FORCE BASE, S.C. --  Editor's Note: Many Airmen leave their families due to deployment taskings in support of different operations each year. Having to leave family members to fulfill these tasks can bring about several challenges on the home front. This article is part two in a three part series on a USAF technical sergeant and his wife who find themselves faced with such challenges.

"I've been waiting for months, and now it's only minutes and he will be home."

Those were the words of an expecting mother who held everything together on the home front while her husband was at war.

While Edith Grabowsky stood among other spouses waiting for her husband to return home, her anticipation grew greater by the moment.

Tech. Sgt. Kevin Grabowsky, who is assigned to the 20th Equipment Maintenance Squadron, deployed in October 2012 from Shaw Air Force Base to Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan, in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. While there, he served a six-month tour with the 451st Expeditionary Maintenance Squadron as the production supervisor of conventional munitions.

A few weeks after arriving in the desert of Afghanistan, Kevin learned of his wife's pregnancy.

The experienced technical sergeant led his team of Airmen through the peaks and valleys that make up a deployment to a Middle Eastern war zone, meeting each challenge that landed in front of them, he explained, but it was now finally time for him and his unit to reunite with their loved ones and redeploy.

"He will be mad at me for saying this, but when it comes to work, Kevin is by the book; he does the right thing and he gets the job done," said Edith. "But he's also a sweetheart, and when it comes to me and our relationship, he is very relaxed, caring and gentle."

As she explained the dynamics of her and her husband's relationship and the vast challenges of separation by deployment, Edith stood as patient as a pregnant woman could, waiting for her husband whom she hadn't seen in nearly seven months. Even with the foreshadowing of swollen feet later in the evening, Edith stood ready in her red, white and blue wedges and a fun, blue dress to welcome her man home.

She wore a necklace that was her first Mother's Day present from her husband. It was a charm necklace which had a "G" for Grabowsky, a cat to represent their four pets and pink feet for their unborn daughter, she explained, as she lovingly rubbed her belly.

Kevin bought the necklace for her by proxy while deployed.

While the proud Air Force wife shared her story, she expressed one thing with distinct emphasis.

"My story isn't any different than those standing around me," Edith said. "They are experiencing the same thing I did. They have their own families. Just because I am pregnant doesn't make me any different. It's just how you deal with it that makes the difference."

The Grabowsky's wanted nothing more than to share their story with those who are and will go through a similar experience -- in hopes of passing on advice and knowledge for overcoming challenges in the face of a deployment, they said.

"We have had our ups and downs like any couple. You have to communicate," she said.
"Thank goodness for technology," she exclaimed. "Kevin also worked nights so that helped with the time difference."

Though seconds seemed like minutes and minutes seemed like hours, the moment was finally upon her.

As the plane could be seen in the sky, Edith's emotion began to slowly come out.

"Oh, my gosh," she said as tears welled in her eyes. "I should have brought tissue."

The plane landed, and Edith didn't know what to do with herself.

Lost in the hundreds of people, Edith stood in the line of families welcoming home their heroes.

"Either she is doing cartwheels," Edith said as she pointed to her belly, "or I am."

Her emotions continued to run high and her anticipation clearly grew with each Airman that moved past her.

"I can feel my heart, thump, thump, thump," she expressed with bated breath. "I'm so nervous."

The waiting game finally came to an end for Edith and Kevin as she picked him out of the crowd and excitedly waved the welcome home sign she made for him.

After more than six months, the duo finally embraced. The first thing Kevin did was kiss his glowing wife, and only seconds later, the father-to-be kneeled on the ground and kissed his wife's pregnant tummy for the first time.

"It was an overwhelming feeling of happiness to see my wife and to see her pregnant belly in person for the first time," Kevin said.

While the couple cherished every second of their reuniting moment, the trek to reach it was a hard one.

As families hugged through the exchange of tears and smiles, Kevin and the rest of the Airmen in his unit knew there was one family that wouldn't get to share those same feelings of happiness.

Capt. James Steel, 77th Fighter Squadron pilot, died in an F-16 Fighting Falcon aircraft accident, while deployed to Afghanistan.

"It is a great loss any time we lose an American military member," said Kevin. "This loss just hit a little closer to home since it was one of our own. There is no doubt there was sadness across the unit, but we still had a job to do."

Among the loss of Steel, Kevin also had personal challenges which concerned being away from his pregnant wife and not being able to physically be a part of things happening to his family back home.

During Kevin's absence, his wife's mother was terminally ill with cancer. She recently passed away, but not before saying goodbye to Kevin, he explained.

"We are doing the best we can in dealing with her passing on," said Kevin. "It was a great loss. At least she held on until I was home. It was the last coherent phone conversation she had before she passed," he continued. "She was so happy to hear I was home. I am happy to have that happy memory before she passed."

Currently, Edith is doing well in her pregnancy and is about 38 weeks along.

"We are very excited," Kevin exclaimed. "We have wanted to have a child for a while now. We are getting very anxious but are a bit nervous like most new parents are."

While Edith and Kevin have successfully prevailed in the battle of being apart from each other, they will face the new and exciting challenge of bringing their daughter into the world together mid-June.

(Staff Sgt. Alexandria Mosness, 20th FW/PA contributed to this story)