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CNN Live Today
Sailors Return From War
Aired March 27, 2002 - 10:10 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Let's go back to those incredible pictures that we were showing you just at the top of the hour. Our Bob Franken probably has the most heartwarming assignment of the day actually, and he is at the homecoming of the USS Roosevelt in Norfolk, Virginia.
Let's go back to Bob -- Bob.
BOB FRANKEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Daryn, right now we are with the Moskovitz (ph) family, which has just had an addition after six months. You are?
SLAVIC MOSKOVITZ (ph), RETURNING SERVICEMAN: My name is Slavic (ph) and her name is Tatiana (ph).
FRANKEN: And this is Christina (ph). And you are just...
TATIANA MOSKOVITZ (ph), WIFE OF RETURNING SERVICEMAN: (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
FRANKEN: Pardon?
T. MOSKOVITZ (ph): I am so happy!
FRANKEN: We talked to two-thirds of this group before, while they were waiting for Slavic (ph) to get off the ship. What sets this particular family apart is that this family is from Russia. You came to the United States in 1990?
S. MOSKOVITZ (ph): Yes.
T. MOSKOVITZ (ph): Yes, we came...
S. MOSKOVITZ (ph): I came in '91, and she came in '90.
T. MOSKOVITZ (ph): Yes, we got married in Cleveland, Ohio, and...
FRANKEN: Is that where you live?
S. MOSKOVITZ (ph): Yes, we live here now in Norfolk, Virginia.
T. MOSKOVITZ (ph): We moved to -- yes, we moved to Virginia in... S. MOSKOVITZ (ph): In 2000.
T. MOSKOVITZ (ph): ... in 2000.
S. MOSKOVITZ (ph): We came here in 2000.
T. MOSKOVITZ (ph): So we are very happy. We are happy. I want to say it was a lot of wait, but hi to everybody at home. We love you!
FRANKEN: How does it feel right now?
S. MOSKOVITZ (ph): It feels great. I am so glad to be home. It was a long trip, but I am glad I am home now.
FRANKEN: And I bet you are unhappy, aren't you?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE CHILD: Yes.
FRANKEN: No, you are happy to see your dad, aren't you?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE CHILD: Yes.
FRANKEN: What has it been like for you?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE CHILD: Very hard without my dad, and now that he is home, I am very happy.
FRANKEN: Did he bring you this?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE CHILD: Yes.
FRANKEN: Oh, let me see this. OK. This is the consummate gift from someone who is in that part of the world. It says, "gulf." It says most importantly, "I love you." And I get the impression that you are going to be saying that in English and Russian a lot to each other in the next week.
S. MOSKOVITZ (ph): In Russian, in Russian.
(SPEAKING IN RUSSIAN)
FRANKEN: Sharing the consummate United States of America experiences, relatively new citizens -- congratulations.
S. MOSKOVITZ (ph): Thank you.
T. MOSKOVITZ (ph): Thank you very much. Thank you very much.
FRANKEN: Not too happy, are they, Daryn? What we are seeing walking past is just the parade of the 5,500 or so crew members -- 5,500 crew members (UNINTELLIGIBLE). Now, one of them, this is a very interesting story. I am going to ask Skip (ph) to turn around, because I want to interview one of the returning crew members. Your name is?
VERONICA POWERS (ph), RETURNING SERVICEWOMAN: Veronica Powers.
FRANKEN: And this is the spouse of -- the husband of.
JACK POWERS (ph), HUSBAND OF RETURNING SERVICEWOMAN: Yes, I am Jack. I am Mr. Mom.
FRANKEN: Mr. Mom.
J. POWERS (ph): Yes.
FRANKEN: It has been six months of being Mr. Mom.
J. POWERS (ph): Yes, it has. And it actually went great for me, because these two keep me busy, but I know that they worked hard out on the boat.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE CHILD: Hey, can I say something?
FRANKEN: You sure can.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE CHILD: My feeling of my mom coming back, there is no word that can express it in the whole entire dictionary.
FRANKEN: Have you tried to come up with some?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE CHILD: Yes. And there's none.
FRANKEN: How about I love you?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE CHILD: That's one.
FRANKEN: How is this? This must be quite remarkable for you.
V. POWERS (ph): It is great. It's the best day of my life.
FRANKEN: Really?
V. POWERS (ph): Yes.
FRANKEN: Is this your first deployment?
V. POWERS (ph): Yes, with my family, yes.
FRANKEN: It's pretty hard, isn't it?
V. POWERS (ph): The separation is really hard, but you always look forward to coming home soon. And you keep pictures of them and keep writing each other and keep in contact. That keeps us going.
FRANKEN: What do you do on the ship?
V. POWERS (ph): I work in supply, shipping and receiving.
FRANKEN: Were you able to stay in touch by e-mail?
J. POWERS (ph): Yes, I stayed in touch by e-mail. And I tell what, thank god for technology, because it's so much easier with that way, because we could respond to each other within a two-day period instead of 6 to 8, 10 weeks. So it made it little easier, and plus I tried to send her out as many boxes of goodies to keep her happy. So she is worth it.
FRANKEN: You said you were Mr. Mom. What was that like?
J. POWERS (ph): Like I was telling the other folks is that I have a lot of appreciation for women now. And, Mom, if you are watching, you did a great job with six of us. I only had two. So it was challenge, but she is worth it. She is worth making the change for it, so that's my baby.
V. POWERS (ph): My love.
FRANKEN: You have to say Petty Officer Love.
J. POWERS (ph): Yes.
FRANKEN: Anyway, congratulations. Are you looking forward to getting home and picking up the mom role again?
V. POWERS (ph): Yes. I want to take it slow.
FRANKEN: A little bit of a pause there. So there may be a little bit Mr. Mom left of you.
J. POWERS (ph): Oh, yes there will be plenty of that. I will continue to do that, but we are going to get pizza and cokes for the kids, and mom and I are going to spend some time together.
FRANKEN: Well, congratulations to both of you -- welcome back to the United States.
J. POWERS (ph): Thank you.
V. POWERS (ph): Thank you.
FRANKEN: Stories like this, Daryn, just everywhere you look. As we look, you can see now...
KAGAN: Oh, look at that.
FRANKEN: ... just this line of some of the 5,500 crew members going past, finding their children, finding their loved ones, seeing them for the first time up close. Look at this right here. This is the first time they have seen each other in over six months. Look at that -- sheer bliss.
KAGAN: Well, Bob, I can only hope you brought plenty of Kleenex with you before you headed out to this assignment.
FRANKEN: Well, if I did, it would have been taken from me a hundred times by people who probably need it very badly.
KAGAN: Yes. FRANKEN: It's amazing to see, you know, the combination of emotions, the happiness that's almost beyond description, which causes people to cry. We have just been seeing that all over the place.
KAGAN: Well, I just have to say just of those last two stories you brought us, I really appreciate those in that it's a reminder of the diversity of the people who are getting off this ship. I mean, you had the Russian sailor, a man who had not been in this country this long, and yet he is a part of the U.S. military. And then, you know, a mom headed overseas, while dad held down the fort back here in the U.S. It's not just about...
FRANKEN: Well, you know, this is...
KAGAN: Go ahead.
FRANKEN: Well, there is such a combination of factors. This, of course, is modern time when the members of the services now include so many women. And the United States military, particularly -- prides itself in particular over the past several decades that it has become as diverse as it is. It's something that the military has been proud of for a long time. And you certainly see the manifestation here of that as you pointed out. And it is something that is quite remarkable. It's something that you just can't avoid noticing, and quite frankly, being proud that you can have a society like that.
KAGAN: How long is it going to take for this ship to unload?
FRANKEN: Well, don't forget, we are talking about 5,500 crew members. So it's going to be quite a while. It could take an hour or two.
KAGAN: All right. Well, that means plenty of great stories to check in with you ahead, and we will do just that. Bob Franken, thank you so much from Norfolk, Virginia -- appreciate it.
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