HOUSTON -- Military families in Texas and across the country waited impatiently Wednesday night for President Barack Obama’s announcement on a military drawdown in Afghanistan. The small town of Danbury in Brazoria County was no different.
Main Street in Danbury is lined with American flags. And on the south side of town the Greaves family keeps a yellow ribbon on their mailbox. And in their gameroom, decorated with patriotic memorabilia, a Christmas tree is still standing. It won’t come down until Army Private Danny Greaves comes home.
"It's real tough,” said his mom Marilyn Greaves. “You know, you pray a lot and you just ask God to keep them safe."
Marilyn Greaves does have one son home safe. Her oldest boy, Darrin, is a former Marine who served one tour in Iraq. But her youngest, Danny, 21, is only three months into a one-year tour of Afghanistan as a combat engineer. His job is searching for and clearing IEDs, improvised explosive devices.
So hearing her son might be among the troops included in an initial drawdown of 10,000 soldiers is exactly what she wants to hear.
"I think they should come home, all of them,” she said. "You hate to tell them bye on the phone because you just never know. You never know."
Danny Greaves is also married. He and his young bride Krystal have only been married a little more than a year. But she says she has to fight against the president’s pending announcement building up too many false hopes.
"I can only wish and hope that my husband will come home,” she said. “But I have faith that I know he's going to be OK if he does stay. And I know that he's there for a good reason."
His brother, the former Marine, also wants his best friend home. But he's lost other friends in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and he doesn’t want a drawdown before the mission is accomplished.
"Why do we have to sacrifice so much if we're going to come home early and not finish the job,” said Darrin Greaves.
More than 2,500 coalition soldiers have died in Afghanistan. So sure, from Danbury to every corner of the U.S., their families want them home soon. But like the Greaves family in Danbury, they’ll take them whenever they can get them, as long as they come home safe.
