Daddy's home: Returning troops savor joys of face-to-face fatherhood
For returning troops, the sweetest gift of all is getting to be a father face to face.
BY DAVID J. NEAL | dneal@MiamiHerald.com
Sometimes, Sgt. Chad Martens gets a reminder that he and infant son Caden still are working through the getting-to-know-you stage.
Today when he woke up, I don't think he had any idea who I was,'' Martens said.</p>The first thing I wanted to do was hold him,'' said Martens of Margate, a sector flight chief at Kirkuk Regional Air Base in Iraq until his return this month.
<p>Martens no longer is a voice through a toy or face on a computer, the equivalent of an international Elmo. For returning troops like him, who became first-time parents just before -- or after -- leaving for Iraq, that may be the best Father's Day gift: Getting to be a dad face to face.</p>
<p>For all the changes returning home brings, fatherhood can be the seasoning that smoothes the transition back to civilian life.</p>
<p>The second thing I wanted to do was play around with him.''</p>I was so wrapped up in him, I grabbed him first, then hugged her. It was amazing to see him. This is amazing.
<p>The day after Capt. Eduardo Martinez of Miramar came home from Kirkuk to wife Cecilia and son Gabriel, he admitted,
``I did crash for a few hours, but when I woke up -- it was just like a magnet, just sitting there looking at him.''
