THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, September 1, 1994 TAG: 9409010550
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A10 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: Charlene Cason
LENGTH: Short : 49 lines
Getting her 7-year-old son situated with relatives in Mississippi is the only concern of Petty Officer 3rd Class Val Lyde, 25. Lyde said she had always felt safe living on base in Guantanamo Bay but, ``when we left this time, they told us to think of the base as just like any other big city.''
The 15-month-old son of Petty Officer 3rd Class Cynthia Binkley, 23, traveled with his mother and met his dad, Petty Officer Eric Binkley, 29, who is stationed in Norfolk. The young couple are en route to Minnesota, where they will leave their son with their best friends ``for up to a year,'' Cynthia said. ``My only thought is how to get back to my son as soon as I can,'' she said.
The tour in Cuba has been a tough one for Petty Officer 1st Class Carolyn Granger, 28. She had to wait more than three months to get housing for her 4-year-old to join her on base. Then her daughter was bitten by a dog and had to be taken back to the States. Now she has to settle her little girl with a friend in Georgia. ``This has been the tour from hell. It's tough leaving my little girl.''
Jeffrey Colon-Brown, 5-year-old son of Chief Lourdes Colon-Brown, 36, was ``wired'' after all the excitement of the trip from Cuba, his mom said. He had been living with her on base, while his father lived in Hampton. Now Jeffrey will move in with his dad. ``I'm happy to go to school here because down there I saw the same teachers all the time. I've been going to school for a hundred years. I miss my daddy; he's the best daddy in the world.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photos
Val Lyde
Eric Binkley
Carolyn Granger
Lourdes Colon-Brown
KEYWORDS: CUBA GUANTANAMO BAY EVACUATION by CNB