Return to Transcripts main page

Live From...

Home Sweet Home

Aired May 23, 2003 - 13:18   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: We're going to take you back to Norfolk, Virginia right now, live pictures as sailors and Marines getting off the USS Harry Truman finally home after six months at sea, of course taking place in Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Our Kathleen Koch right there in the middle of it all. I think we found someone -- Kathleen.

KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We did, Kyra.

We finally got someone to slow down. And they don't really have much choice. It's kind of bogging up now. We've got, you know, 5,000 sailors and Marines who have to get off this massive ship, and one of them, Yvonne, has stopped to talk to us.

Yvonne, tell us how you're feeling.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm so exciting. My little boy turned about three a week ago, and he's waiting for me at the end of the pier with my husband. So I'm just really excited to be home.

KOCH: Tell us about what you did on the ship and how tough the last six months have been.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm an air traffic controller, and we had long, long days when we were doing the war and stuff like that. But it's great to be home, and it's just -- the excitement, it's a lot of fun.

KOCH: Yvonne, who is this here with you?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is Shirley.

KOCH: Shirley, what's your last name?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Bearclaw.

KOCH: Shirley, tell me about your job. How tough is it on this ship, especially when you've got these fighter jets roaring on and off in the middle of the night and the ship is bouncing up and down.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It was pretty tough. It was pretty tough, especially sharing case with another carrier, but it was well worth it, well worth it.

KOCH: What was the toughest part, would you say, of the last six months? UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Being away from my son.

KOCH: Tell us about him, and how has he been managing without you? How old is he?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He's 6. He was attached at my hip. And so this is the first time we've been away from each other. So I'm excited to get back to him.

KOCH: So who's been watching him in your absence?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My husband. He's also in the military. So it's my turn kind of to go and see, and he's at home.

KOCH: Ladies, thank you very much. And welcome back. Job well done.

We're going to move on, see if we can talk to anyone else.

Hi. Would you like to talk to us? How does it feel to be back out?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Feels great. Now all I have to do is find the people that are here waiting for me, my family. I'll be good to go.

KOCH: What's your name, and who's waiting for you?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My name is Mike Trigenti (ph), and my girlfriend Lisa and my daughter, and Lisa's daughters.

KOCH: How old are your daughters?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Nineteen, 18 and 14.

KOCH: We don't want to slow you down. Go see them. Good luck. Thank you very much.

Anyone else want to talk, tell us how they feel about being back? Well, Kyra, they're all on the move now. We'll try to waylay as many as we can as time goes on. Do you have a minute for a few more?

PHILLIPS: Oh, absolutely. Can you crackdown another family there?

KOCH: Well, the families are on the other side of this sea of sailors, but here we have a sailor. What's your name?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My name is Pedro Solange (ph), from Carrier Airwing Three.

KOCH: So tell me, how does it feel to be home?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's a great, great feeling.

KOCH: Who is here waiting for you? UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My three children and my fiance. Where they are, I have no idea. There are too many people here. I'll find them once I get outside the gate.

KOCH: I was wondering, do you sailors have a system to find your families? I mean, there are 5,000 of you, and I'm sure many more of them.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Most of us do. I have a cell phone, but I believe my fiance's battery's dead from her trying to call me. With the ship, we couldn't use them until we got pierside, so it was a little difficult.

KOCH: Have you been able to spot them at all in the crowd? I know we talked to some families earlier who actually spotted their loves one up on the ship, and they were communicating.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Some of them had the walkie-talkie-type radios, and they have. I haven't yet. But I've got a place where I'm going to hopefully meet up with them.

KOCH: All right, well good luck. We hope you can find them.

Well, here's another sailor.

Hi, can you tell us your name, tell us what you did on the ship, and how you feel about being back?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hi, I'm Tiamone Finonez (ph). I work in weapons department, and it's been great. We were in charge of loading ammunition on aircraft, as well as helicopters. And we just supported the mission as well as we could.

KOCH: All right, thank you, and it was a great mission, you know.

Kyra, they flew some 1,280 sorties off the USS Harry S. Truman, striking some 588 targets, and the best news of all, everyone came home safely.

Back to you.

PHILLIPS: That is the best news. Kathleen Koch, we'll continue to check in with you there. Thank you so much.

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 May 23, 2003 - 13:18   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: We're going to take you back to Norfolk, Virginia right now, live pictures as sailors and Marines getting off the USS Harry Truman finally home after six months at sea, of course taking place in Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Our Kathleen Koch right there in the middle of it all. I think we found someone -- Kathleen.

KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We did, Kyra.

We finally got someone to slow down. And they don't really have much choice. It's kind of bogging up now. We've got, you know, 5,000 sailors and Marines who have to get off this massive ship, and one of them, Yvonne, has stopped to talk to us.

Yvonne, tell us how you're feeling.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm so exciting. My little boy turned about three a week ago, and he's waiting for me at the end of the pier with my husband. So I'm just really excited to be home.

KOCH: Tell us about what you did on the ship and how tough the last six months have been.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm an air traffic controller, and we had long, long days when we were doing the war and stuff like that. But it's great to be home, and it's just -- the excitement, it's a lot of fun.

KOCH: Yvonne, who is this here with you?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is Shirley.

KOCH: Shirley, what's your last name?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Bearclaw.

KOCH: Shirley, tell me about your job. How tough is it on this ship, especially when you've got these fighter jets roaring on and off in the middle of the night and the ship is bouncing up and down.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It was pretty tough. It was pretty tough, especially sharing case with another carrier, but it was well worth it, well worth it.

KOCH: What was the toughest part, would you say, of the last six months? UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Being away from my son.

KOCH: Tell us about him, and how has he been managing without you? How old is he?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He's 6. He was attached at my hip. And so this is the first time we've been away from each other. So I'm excited to get back to him.

KOCH: So who's been watching him in your absence?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My husband. He's also in the military. So it's my turn kind of to go and see, and he's at home.

KOCH: Ladies, thank you very much. And welcome back. Job well done.

We're going to move on, see if we can talk to anyone else.

Hi. Would you like to talk to us? How does it feel to be back out?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Feels great. Now all I have to do is find the people that are here waiting for me, my family. I'll be good to go.

KOCH: What's your name, and who's waiting for you?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My name is Mike Trigenti (ph), and my girlfriend Lisa and my daughter, and Lisa's daughters.

KOCH: How old are your daughters?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Nineteen, 18 and 14.

KOCH: We don't want to slow you down. Go see them. Good luck. Thank you very much.

Anyone else want to talk, tell us how they feel about being back? Well, Kyra, they're all on the move now. We'll try to waylay as many as we can as time goes on. Do you have a minute for a few more?

PHILLIPS: Oh, absolutely. Can you crackdown another family there?

KOCH: Well, the families are on the other side of this sea of sailors, but here we have a sailor. What's your name?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My name is Pedro Solange (ph), from Carrier Airwing Three.

KOCH: So tell me, how does it feel to be home?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's a great, great feeling.

KOCH: Who is here waiting for you? UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My three children and my fiance. Where they are, I have no idea. There are too many people here. I'll find them once I get outside the gate.

KOCH: I was wondering, do you sailors have a system to find your families? I mean, there are 5,000 of you, and I'm sure many more of them.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Most of us do. I have a cell phone, but I believe my fiance's battery's dead from her trying to call me. With the ship, we couldn't use them until we got pierside, so it was a little difficult.

KOCH: Have you been able to spot them at all in the crowd? I know we talked to some families earlier who actually spotted their loves one up on the ship, and they were communicating.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Some of them had the walkie-talkie-type radios, and they have. I haven't yet. But I've got a place where I'm going to hopefully meet up with them.

KOCH: All right, well good luck. We hope you can find them.

Well, here's another sailor.

Hi, can you tell us your name, tell us what you did on the ship, and how you feel about being back?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hi, I'm Tiamone Finonez (ph). I work in weapons department, and it's been great. We were in charge of loading ammunition on aircraft, as well as helicopters. And we just supported the mission as well as we could.

KOCH: All right, thank you, and it was a great mission, you know.

Kyra, they flew some 1,280 sorties off the USS Harry S. Truman, striking some 588 targets, and the best news of all, everyone came home safely.

Back to you.

PHILLIPS: That is the best news. Kathleen Koch, we'll continue to check in with you there. Thank you so much.

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