Day One - continued

11:30 AM Kuwaiti Time


Carol got through on the phone. That was hard. We were both crying at the end. How brave am I expected to be? Crying is not related to bravery anyway, not in my book. I've heard it takes a really brave man to show his emotions. For now, I'm safe, and my family at least has that much information. Don't worry. I told Carol don't worry. What a joke. We didn't talk long (I'll regret that later). I didn't want to tie up the phone lines (unselfish to the end). I was actually concerned with leaving communication lines open for the Kuwaiti government. It was the middle of the night for Carol. That must've been a terrible way to get woken up. Claudette was the first to get through on the phone to her mother in Mount Clemens, and told her to call George's wife and mine. Poor Carol. I hope that call is the hardest thing I'll have to go through for a long while. Carol was wide awake and alert. Amazing. For her it was 4:30 in the morning. She received her call from Claudette's mother only a half hour before, and was dialing Kuwait ever since.

Laughs. Nervous laughs. What else could we do? I am sipping a little scotch on the rocks. For "medicinal purposes" as Carol's dad used to say. I hate scotch. A cold beer would be welcome right now. I really feel that that would be acceptable in God's eyes too. God. Has my life served your purpose? Probably not. Are my sins forgiven? Yes. Lord I pray you will guide me home, one way or another, that I may hold my wife, my children, once again. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.

Many people would probably not believe that I look to God daily. With that, I can be calm. The verse from Hebrews? "What can man do to me?" Pain may hurt this body, may rip at my soul, but there is greater glory. Enough.

We are at Bob's, shooting pool. Do you believe it, shooting pool? Bob is Mario's neighbor and boss. He is a Canadian. Bob says he could use a beer, a cold Miller. I would prefer some Labatt's Extra Stock myself. Bob points out that alcohol may be a positive outcome of this invasion; the Iraqi’s allow beer in their country. I still want out of here. Wouldn't delay that for a six pack. How the mind wanders.

The grocery store. George, Sylvia & I are dropped off at one market. Mario, John & Claudette go to another. The market is crowded with Kuwaiti's, all loading whatever they could. Everybody seemed relatively calm, but there was a definite urgency to their efforts. George had a cart, Sylvie & I had a cart. What to grab? Liquids. Grab juice. We all brought whatever bottles of water we had from the hotel. Canned goods. Get canned goods. Peaches. I remember the old war movies, what a luxury item canned peaches were. Would it come to that? Would we all be huddled in the dark eating rations of canned goods? I call dibs on the peaches.

August 2, 1990 - Part 1

I arrived in Kuwait about a week before the Iraqi invasion. I came over to fulfill one of the contract requirements that we had included with the sale of V-300 light armored vehicles to the Kuwaiti National Guard.

About 7:30 in the AM, the phone in my room rang. It was John. CNN was broadcasting that Iraqi forces were moving against Kuwait. S#@%!! Throw some things in a bag and get the f#@% out of here. That is the first priority, and that was what we did.

We are at the SAS Kuwait Hotel. John has a friend who lives in Kuwait, Mario, a fellow Maltese. We are throwing some essentials into a small bag, water, underwear, candy.... Mario and his wife Sarah live near here, in Salwa (I'll worry about the spelling later). We are evacuating to their house. Stay calm!

We didn't waste time checking out. What for? It only took five minutes to get to Mario's. I left behind a computer, a suit, pants, new shoes, shorts, just about everything, even my coffee pot. We figured a civilian house would be safer than a plush hotel. We appeared to be correct on that thought. Iraqi tanks were right outside the hotel an hour later, protecting the gulf from assault I guess. We are in a safe place, isolated, for now. Mario suggested that we hit the market to stock up on supplies. I don't like the idea, but we should get as much food stuff as we can,just in case. There are seven of us here; Mario and Sarah, their maid Sylvie, John and his wife Claudette, George and myself. John and George also worked for Cadillac Gage, and had been in country a little longer, providing field service and repair support for the V-300 vehicles.

Prologue

On August 2, 1990, Iraq invaded Kuwait. I was there on a business trip. From the first day of the invasion until I stepped off the plane in Detroit four and a half months later, I was never sure that I would see my wife and two daughters again. I kept a daily journal, thinking that it might be the only legacy I would leave behind if I didn't make it home. This blog will be an edited version of my journal, and may possibly include new comments after the fact.

At the time, I was employed by Cadillac Gage Textron as Manager of Integrated Logistics Support. We manufactured light armored vehicles, tanks, and turreted weapon stations. We had a pretty nice contract with Kuwait, which included a computer and software package to manage the vehicle maintenance and parts program. I had sourced the software for this program, and it was my job to deliver the package and provide initial training to the Kuwaitis. It should have been a walk in the park, had it not been for the Iraqi's rattling their sabres on the border of Kuwait about a week before I was due to travel. At the time, we were told that it was just a show of strength, but not a real threat. The Iraqi's eventually left the border, and I was given the 'all clear' to travel. I was scheduled to be gone for about two to three weeks. It was going to be a walk in the park, and a visit to part of the world where I had never been. Honey, I'll be back before you know it!