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Interview With Authors of 'Keeping Faith'

Aired January 16, 2003 - 14:44   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.


KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Now, a father/son story about love and the United States Marine Corps. Frank Schaeffer couldn't understand why his son wanted to become a Marine. John Schaeffer says, because the Marine Corps was a team with a purpose. Separation spurred sensitivity between this father and son. John would prove that boot camp was not tantamount to troubled kids. Frank would soon find a connection to his country that he had never experienced before. Their letters not only sparked deep emotions, but triggered a book. It's called "Keeping Faith." Frank Schaeffer and Corporal John Schaeffer join us today to talk about it.
Hi, gentlemen.

CPL. JOHN SCHAEFFER, CO-AUTHOR, "KEEPING FAITH": How are you?

FRANK SCHAEFFER, CO-AUTHOR, "KEEPING FAITH": Hi.

PHILLIPS: All right, Frank, let's begin with you. Before John became a Marine, did you ever think much about who was defending you?

F. SCHAEFFER: No, I didn't, Kyra. You know, I live in the Northeast, I'm a novelist, I write for a living, and I never served in the military. But, these days, when I hear about news items and military deployments and this sort of thing, I put a name and a face with those young men and women, and the name and the face is my son. So it really changes everything when one of your own is in there. And you start looking at your country and service differently.

PHILLIPS: And, John, your dad writes in the book -- "As we pulled out of our drive and I reached over to give his hand a squeeze, John didn't let go, but enfolded my hand in his big paws and held on to it as if he were four and we were on our way to the dentist. John's hand had gotten colder as we drove." Take us back, John, what was going through your head when you were heading off to boot camp?

J. SCHAEFFER: Well, it was about 4:30 in the morning and I'd been waiting for about 6 months to go to boot camp. I signed up in December and I left in August. And I was terrified. I mean, I'd heard of a lot of stories and I'd been in the delayed entry program. But I was -- I was very, very nervous and very scared.

PHILLIPS: Well, John, your dad would write you these letters and want you to finish his sentences. And I love this part of the book, it was great. And he would ask you to fill in -- "I am most lonely when... I am most happy when..." Well. you said you were most lonely when you wake up. And you were the happiest when you went to sleep. How do you feel now? J. SCHAEFFER: Well, that was in boot camp. Now, I feel a lot different. I enjoy my work. But during boot camp, it's very difficult because you take it one day at a time, but every day has its own challenges. And every time you get to lie down, you realize that that day is over and you have eight hours of rest coming to you before you've got to wake up and face the next day.

PHILLIPS: Well, John, let me ask you. You come from a family that does very well. You went to a private high school. Your friends were going off to Harvard and other prestigious colleges. But you decided on the military, Why?

J. SCHAEFFER: Well, I think America teaches teenagers in particular that they are supposed to be the center of the universe, that they're more important than anything else. And I was really tired of that. I wanted to belong to something that was more important than I was. And I felt the military, and Marine Corps in particular, was that way for me.

PHILLIPS: And Frank, it opened up your eyes, too, right? When parents were finding out about your son going into the military, a lot of them said, well, what went wrong? Did he not do well in school? And you have a new attitude about this now, don't you?

F. SCHAEFFER: Yes, I have to say, you know, when he first went into the military I was trying to explain to parents all anxious to tell me how their kid was going to Harvard or Brown, what they were doing, and they would look at me and say, What is he doing that for? Do you have financial troubles? Or others said, What a waste. Or one said, oh, isn't that terribly southern, how could he go into the Marines? And really, that kind of '60s attitude of an anti-military view has prevailed in certain parts of our country and certain classes of people.

And I'm ashamed to say that often, the more educated and the people from universities and the university kind of culture, is not one very friendly to the military. And they kind of look at people like John as if, you know, what are you doing this for, forgetting that while we sleep, John and the other Marines and the Air Force and Navy and the rest of the military is watching our backs. We're free to sit here having this conversation because John is down there, willing to do the job he's doing. And that's something I never really understood on a personal level before.

PHILLIPS: John, let's talk about breaking the stereotype. Let's talk about what the military does for someone that Harvard cannot do for someone. And specifically, this relationship with you and this ex gang member from Detroit. I found that fascinating.

J. SCHAEFFER: Well, I think the military and the Marine Corps in particular really forces a person to grow up. You have to learn that there are immediate consequences for your actions that you don't always find in prestigious colleges and in a lot of environments that teenagers and young people move in these days.

And I think that one of the reasons that the former gang member from Detroit and I got on so well is that I was trying to become part of a world that he already understood in a sense, not necessarily that he was filled with discipline before he joined the Marine Corps, but that he already knew that there was a world out there where consequences were permanent.

PHILLIPS: John are you ready for a war against Iraq?

J. SCHAEFFER: I am. Yes. I support the commander in chief in whatever he decides, and I'll be more than happy to go along with that.

PHILLIPS: Frank, are you ready for your son to take on a war with Iraq?

F. SCHAEFFER: As a father, no. You know, when I think of my little boy, when he was a kid, it's a tough thought. I mean, you know, that's my little boy out there. And he was the youngest in our family. But as an American, I'm glad for the United States of America and the stand we take and I'm glad for my boy and his bravery and the bravery of the other Marines who are with him, his brothers in the Marine Corps.

PHILLIPS: We definitely salute you, John. John Schaeffer, thank you so much.

J. SCHAEFFER: Thank you.

PHILLIPS: And Frank, I'm going to have you read one more quote from the story, just showing how your son went from a baby boy to a true man, a courageous man. As we look at pictures and hear from you, we'll go to break. Go ahead, Frank.

F. SCHAEFFER: Sure, well, the opening paragraph of our book is "when John was newly born, his damp hair smelling sweet, the nurse played his long body in my arms and then, bless her, forgot us while Jeanie (ph) slept. I held him until the sun set and the stuffy room grew dark. That's my boy, and that's my soldier and my Marine."

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com






Aired January 16, 2003 - 14:44   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Now, a father/son story about love and the United States Marine Corps. Frank Schaeffer couldn't understand why his son wanted to become a Marine. John Schaeffer says, because the Marine Corps was a team with a purpose. Separation spurred sensitivity between this father and son. John would prove that boot camp was not tantamount to troubled kids. Frank would soon find a connection to his country that he had never experienced before. Their letters not only sparked deep emotions, but triggered a book. It's called "Keeping Faith." Frank Schaeffer and Corporal John Schaeffer join us today to talk about it.
Hi, gentlemen.

CPL. JOHN SCHAEFFER, CO-AUTHOR, "KEEPING FAITH": How are you?

FRANK SCHAEFFER, CO-AUTHOR, "KEEPING FAITH": Hi.

PHILLIPS: All right, Frank, let's begin with you. Before John became a Marine, did you ever think much about who was defending you?

F. SCHAEFFER: No, I didn't, Kyra. You know, I live in the Northeast, I'm a novelist, I write for a living, and I never served in the military. But, these days, when I hear about news items and military deployments and this sort of thing, I put a name and a face with those young men and women, and the name and the face is my son. So it really changes everything when one of your own is in there. And you start looking at your country and service differently.

PHILLIPS: And, John, your dad writes in the book -- "As we pulled out of our drive and I reached over to give his hand a squeeze, John didn't let go, but enfolded my hand in his big paws and held on to it as if he were four and we were on our way to the dentist. John's hand had gotten colder as we drove." Take us back, John, what was going through your head when you were heading off to boot camp?

J. SCHAEFFER: Well, it was about 4:30 in the morning and I'd been waiting for about 6 months to go to boot camp. I signed up in December and I left in August. And I was terrified. I mean, I'd heard of a lot of stories and I'd been in the delayed entry program. But I was -- I was very, very nervous and very scared.

PHILLIPS: Well, John, your dad would write you these letters and want you to finish his sentences. And I love this part of the book, it was great. And he would ask you to fill in -- "I am most lonely when... I am most happy when..." Well. you said you were most lonely when you wake up. And you were the happiest when you went to sleep. How do you feel now? J. SCHAEFFER: Well, that was in boot camp. Now, I feel a lot different. I enjoy my work. But during boot camp, it's very difficult because you take it one day at a time, but every day has its own challenges. And every time you get to lie down, you realize that that day is over and you have eight hours of rest coming to you before you've got to wake up and face the next day.

PHILLIPS: Well, John, let me ask you. You come from a family that does very well. You went to a private high school. Your friends were going off to Harvard and other prestigious colleges. But you decided on the military, Why?

J. SCHAEFFER: Well, I think America teaches teenagers in particular that they are supposed to be the center of the universe, that they're more important than anything else. And I was really tired of that. I wanted to belong to something that was more important than I was. And I felt the military, and Marine Corps in particular, was that way for me.

PHILLIPS: And Frank, it opened up your eyes, too, right? When parents were finding out about your son going into the military, a lot of them said, well, what went wrong? Did he not do well in school? And you have a new attitude about this now, don't you?

F. SCHAEFFER: Yes, I have to say, you know, when he first went into the military I was trying to explain to parents all anxious to tell me how their kid was going to Harvard or Brown, what they were doing, and they would look at me and say, What is he doing that for? Do you have financial troubles? Or others said, What a waste. Or one said, oh, isn't that terribly southern, how could he go into the Marines? And really, that kind of '60s attitude of an anti-military view has prevailed in certain parts of our country and certain classes of people.

And I'm ashamed to say that often, the more educated and the people from universities and the university kind of culture, is not one very friendly to the military. And they kind of look at people like John as if, you know, what are you doing this for, forgetting that while we sleep, John and the other Marines and the Air Force and Navy and the rest of the military is watching our backs. We're free to sit here having this conversation because John is down there, willing to do the job he's doing. And that's something I never really understood on a personal level before.

PHILLIPS: John, let's talk about breaking the stereotype. Let's talk about what the military does for someone that Harvard cannot do for someone. And specifically, this relationship with you and this ex gang member from Detroit. I found that fascinating.

J. SCHAEFFER: Well, I think the military and the Marine Corps in particular really forces a person to grow up. You have to learn that there are immediate consequences for your actions that you don't always find in prestigious colleges and in a lot of environments that teenagers and young people move in these days.

And I think that one of the reasons that the former gang member from Detroit and I got on so well is that I was trying to become part of a world that he already understood in a sense, not necessarily that he was filled with discipline before he joined the Marine Corps, but that he already knew that there was a world out there where consequences were permanent.

PHILLIPS: John are you ready for a war against Iraq?

J. SCHAEFFER: I am. Yes. I support the commander in chief in whatever he decides, and I'll be more than happy to go along with that.

PHILLIPS: Frank, are you ready for your son to take on a war with Iraq?

F. SCHAEFFER: As a father, no. You know, when I think of my little boy, when he was a kid, it's a tough thought. I mean, you know, that's my little boy out there. And he was the youngest in our family. But as an American, I'm glad for the United States of America and the stand we take and I'm glad for my boy and his bravery and the bravery of the other Marines who are with him, his brothers in the Marine Corps.

PHILLIPS: We definitely salute you, John. John Schaeffer, thank you so much.

J. SCHAEFFER: Thank you.

PHILLIPS: And Frank, I'm going to have you read one more quote from the story, just showing how your son went from a baby boy to a true man, a courageous man. As we look at pictures and hear from you, we'll go to break. Go ahead, Frank.

F. SCHAEFFER: Sure, well, the opening paragraph of our book is "when John was newly born, his damp hair smelling sweet, the nurse played his long body in my arms and then, bless her, forgot us while Jeanie (ph) slept. I held him until the sun set and the stuffy room grew dark. That's my boy, and that's my soldier and my Marine."

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com