TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Family Welcomes Soldier Home

ADVERTISEMENT

By GEORGE H. NEWMAN, The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 13, 2007

Updated: 10/11/2007 05:44 pm

PLANT CITY - The signs and balloons read Happy Birthday, but the family of a Plant City soldier who returned from service in Iraq breathed a sigh of relief as they sang his birthday song.

Army Sgt. Eric Christopher 'Chris' Wiggins, his wife, Andrea, and the couple's 5-year-old daughter, Jasmine, arrived about 30 minutes early for his Oct. 6 surprise party at the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Recreation Center. For his mother and father, Cathy and John Wiggins, it couldn't have been soon enough.

Wiggins' sister, Makesha Wiggins, spoke of the family's joy and excitement.

'This birthday and homecoming is more meaningful because of the safety Chris can now enjoy,' she said. 'Even though other soldiers are facing danger and we remember them, our family can be comforted, at least for now, by Chris being home with us again.'

Wiggins, with the 1st Corps, 9th Finance Division, served a one-year tour in Iraq through August.

'We were stationed in Tikrit, Iraq,' Wiggins said. 'We delivered payroll in U.S. currency twice each month to military personnel and civilian contractors stationed in Camp Summerall. We flew in armed helicopters when making deliveries. We encountered ground fire on almost every mission.'

Wiggins graduated from Plant City High School in 1994 and joined the Army. Because he was 17 at the time, his parents had to sign a document giving their consent.

'It seemed like a good idea at the time,' Wiggins' father said. 'Since then I have had other ideas about it all. But Chris keeps re-enlisting, so it seems to be what he wants to do. We are very proud of his service in the Army.'

Wiggins' brother, Anthony, 32, a graduate and former football star at Grambling State University, shares his family's relief for his brother's safe return.

'Chris is doing something I could never do,' Anthony Wiggins said. 'I have to give him credit. I saw enough discipline at Grambling State to last a lifetime. But it's great to have Chris back in the States. It's great to see him, his wife and daughter together again. The relief for us is more so for Mom and Dad. Mom was especially worried. You can give our parents a great deal of credit for the success and character of their children. They are wonderful parents.'

The recent Plant City funeral of Cory Clark, a soldier killed in Afghanistan in August, was especially difficult for Cathy Wiggins.

'We all took Cory's death very hard,' Anthony Wiggins said. 'Mom was heartbroken for the Clark family. Chris was on his way home. And we knew he was safe. We just pray to God he doesn't have to go back.'

Nothing is assured, particularly in the military, Chris Wiggins said.

'I'm glad to be out of there. Iraq is a hot, dusty and hostile place,' he said. 'I always kept my family first in my heart. I knew they were praying for me at home. I remembered my mother quoting a biblical verse, 'This too shall pass,' and it did. It was good to be back home.'

He is stationed at Fort Lewis, near Tacoma, Wash., where his wife and daughter lived while he was in Iraq. He has received orders to serve three years at the George C. Marshall Center in southern Germany. By the end of that tour, Wiggins will have more than 16 years in the service.

'I could retire with 20 years and only be 37 years old,' Wiggins said with a smile. 'We'll see how it pans out, but that's the plan right now.'

The surprise party, attended by about 100 family members and friends, was planned for Wiggins in early August when the family anticipated his leaving Iraq. Evelyn Lampkin, a great-aunt to Wiggins, was involved in passing the word of the event.

'We thought at first that Chris would be able to come home in early September,' Lampkin said. 'But the military had other plans in the United States and we had to wait another month.'

Andrea Wiggins, 29, said the year her husband served in Iraq was scary for her and their daughter.

'Because Chris was in a support unit it wasn't too bad,' Andrea Wiggins said. 'But friends on base would tell about bad things that happened to their husbands or soldiers in their units. It was frightening. Chris and I were able to talk on the phone a lot. But when the expected phone call didn't come it was the worst.'

During his tour of Iraq, Wiggins was allowed to come home for two weeks during Christmas. Although the reunion was much appreciated, Andrea Wiggins said her then 4-year-old daughter was devastated by her father's leaving home again.

'When Chris finally came home from Iraq we were waiting on the base with 20 other families to meet our husbands,' she said. 'Jasmine was very excited. She kept screaming for her daddy. He was the second to last soldier to get off the bus. Jasmine was so ecstatic.

'For weeks they were inseparable. She didn't want to let him go anywhere without her. She now knows he is safe and will remain with us.'

Wiggins, his wife and daughter will travel together to Germany when he is reassigned.

'My parents live in northern Germany,' said Andrea Wiggins, a native of Germany. 'I'm sure we will visit them often. It will be a much better tour than the last one.'

Reporter George H. Newman can be reached at (813) 865-4451 or gnewman@tampatrib.com.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT