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CNN Live Today
Marine Fighter Pilot Connects With Family
Aired March 28, 2003 - 11:23 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.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: Wives, husbands, children, hundreds of thousands of American families separated by war now, technology allows us to bring them together for a brief time, but hopefully for a memorable reunion.
Captain Bill Barber is a Marine fighter pilot aboard the USS Constellation in the Persian Gulf. And he spoke with our embedded reporter Frank Buckley just a few days ago about his mission.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CAPT. BILL BARBER, MARINE FIGHTER PILOT: I put a whole lot of effort into making this thing happen tonight and really gratifying to see it all come together, see it go as advertised. And, most importantly, see everybody come back unscathed and unhurt.
FRANK BUCKLEY, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I'm sure your families, if they're watching, will be happy to see your face. Thank you very much, Captain. Thank you. Bill Barber and Lieutenant Pat Cronin, thank you very much, gentlemen.
Just two of the aviators that were part of the first-strike package going into Iraq.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ZAHN: And Captain Bill Barber joins us from the carrier Constellation by way of videophone. His wife, Theresa, is stateside with two beautiful sons on her lap. The military's asked us not to reveal where she is in the states.
Good to see both of you. Nice of you to allow us to do this.
Theresa, you have not seen your husband since November 2. How did he look to you on that Frank Buckley piece? How does he look to you right now?
THERESA BARBER, WIFE OF BILL BARBER: He looks great. And, last week, when I saw him in that Frank Buckley report, he had a big smile on his face and he seemed real sure of himself after his mission.
ZAHN: Captain, we're going to give you a chance to say hello to your wife here.
B. BARBER: Hey, baby, how are you doing?
T. BARBER: Pretty good.
B. BARBER: I hope you and the kids are doing great.
T. BARBER: Thank you. I'm glad to see you, too.
ZAHN: Captain, this is...
T. BARBER: I wish I could be there, but the...
ZAHN: Well, I'll give you a description, Captain. You have two very well-behaved sons. They're sitting there rather dutifully in your wife's lap.
This is not your first deployment. You've had others. How is this one different from what you've experienced in the past?
B. BARBER: Well, obviously, we've all got a real renewed sense of purpose out here. We're directly supporting Marines on the ground, Army soldiers on the ground. We're doing exactly what we've been trained to do. And with all this going on, especially in the last few days, it's taken on a whole new sense of importance to everybody out here on the ship. And it's extremely gratifying to be able to support our troops that are out there on the ground relying on us.
ZAHN: Well, Captain, I wish you could see your sons. They're mugging for the camera now. They've spotted you. And they're very happy to see you.
B. BARBER: Oh. Hey, boys, how you doing? How much does daddy love you, guys?
T. BARBER: Daddy is asking how much does loves you. How much does he love you?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That much.
T. BARBER: That much.
B. BARBER: That's right.
ZAHN: Theresa, how is your family getting along? This has been almost a five-month separation we're talking about here. How do you get through each day?
T. BARBER: We're doing really good. We do different activities together with the boys.
One of our nightly routines, every night, is to have their baths. And we pull off a link from a paper chain that we've made when my husband left on deployment. So now they've seen that the chain is getting shorter and shorter and daddy will be home soon and safe. And he'll bring everybody else home with him.
ZAHN: Now, your wife is down to one child on the lap. I think Troy (ph) is crawling around underneath a chair, Captain.
Just describe to us how you think the war is going. All of the military commanders say it's going on plan. But they make it very clear that the toughest part is yet to come.
B. BARBER: Yes. We certainly agree that, from what we've done so far, it's gone as advertised. But we know that there's heavy fighting to come and the, once we move into Baghdad, that's when the real test is going to be applied to us.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Daddy. Daddy, Mommy. Daddy.
B. BARBER: From an air wing side, from our perspective out here on the aircraft carrier, we've done an absolutely magnificent job. And it's a result of a lot of training and a lot of hard effort that's been put into it by everybody out here.
ZAHN: And your son Dane (ph) now is looking like he's really -- or is that Troy? -- enjoying his new hair cut there.
T. BARBER: That's right.
BLITZER: Theresa, is there anything you want to tell your husband about how the boys seem to be getting along?
T. BARBER: They're getting along real great, William. And they're getting to the age now to where they're wanting to play together as brothers and they're becoming real good playmates. And they're just real excited to have you home, so they can take you to some baseball games and read stories with them.
ZAHN: Theresa, I don't know when the next time is you will be able to talk to your husband, Bill.
(CROSSTALK)
ZAHN: You can feel free to ask him a question or two here. Go ahead, Theresa.
T. BARBER: OK.
How is everybody in the squadron doing out there?
B. BARBER: The squadron's doing really outstanding. Under Lieutenant Colonel Thomas (ph), we've just had great times for the entire deployment. And we don't really see any reason that we're not going to have a great rest of the deployment. We look forward to getting home, obviously, but we're right where we need to be at this particular time.
ZAHN: Well, I wish you could see this live picture, Captain, because your sons are adorable. And they're crawling all over the place, full of energy, and very happy to see you.
B. BARBER: I wish I could see them, too, but all in good time.
ZAHN: Well, we really appreciate your whole family letting us do this live on television.
I know, Theresa, it's a little intimidating sharing your conversation with millions of people out there, but thanks for letting us eavesdrop. And best of luck to your family. Again, thanks to all of you.
T. BARBER: Thank you for giving us the opportunity.
ZAHN: It's our pleasure.
B. BARBER: Thank you.
ZAHN: One of the amazing things you can do with the technology we have.
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 March 28, 2003 - 11:23 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.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: Wives, husbands, children, hundreds of thousands of American families separated by war now, technology allows us to bring them together for a brief time, but hopefully for a memorable reunion.
Captain Bill Barber is a Marine fighter pilot aboard the USS Constellation in the Persian Gulf. And he spoke with our embedded reporter Frank Buckley just a few days ago about his mission.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CAPT. BILL BARBER, MARINE FIGHTER PILOT: I put a whole lot of effort into making this thing happen tonight and really gratifying to see it all come together, see it go as advertised. And, most importantly, see everybody come back unscathed and unhurt.
FRANK BUCKLEY, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I'm sure your families, if they're watching, will be happy to see your face. Thank you very much, Captain. Thank you. Bill Barber and Lieutenant Pat Cronin, thank you very much, gentlemen.
Just two of the aviators that were part of the first-strike package going into Iraq.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ZAHN: And Captain Bill Barber joins us from the carrier Constellation by way of videophone. His wife, Theresa, is stateside with two beautiful sons on her lap. The military's asked us not to reveal where she is in the states.
Good to see both of you. Nice of you to allow us to do this.
Theresa, you have not seen your husband since November 2. How did he look to you on that Frank Buckley piece? How does he look to you right now?
THERESA BARBER, WIFE OF BILL BARBER: He looks great. And, last week, when I saw him in that Frank Buckley report, he had a big smile on his face and he seemed real sure of himself after his mission.
ZAHN: Captain, we're going to give you a chance to say hello to your wife here.
B. BARBER: Hey, baby, how are you doing?
T. BARBER: Pretty good.
B. BARBER: I hope you and the kids are doing great.
T. BARBER: Thank you. I'm glad to see you, too.
ZAHN: Captain, this is...
T. BARBER: I wish I could be there, but the...
ZAHN: Well, I'll give you a description, Captain. You have two very well-behaved sons. They're sitting there rather dutifully in your wife's lap.
This is not your first deployment. You've had others. How is this one different from what you've experienced in the past?
B. BARBER: Well, obviously, we've all got a real renewed sense of purpose out here. We're directly supporting Marines on the ground, Army soldiers on the ground. We're doing exactly what we've been trained to do. And with all this going on, especially in the last few days, it's taken on a whole new sense of importance to everybody out here on the ship. And it's extremely gratifying to be able to support our troops that are out there on the ground relying on us.
ZAHN: Well, Captain, I wish you could see your sons. They're mugging for the camera now. They've spotted you. And they're very happy to see you.
B. BARBER: Oh. Hey, boys, how you doing? How much does daddy love you, guys?
T. BARBER: Daddy is asking how much does loves you. How much does he love you?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That much.
T. BARBER: That much.
B. BARBER: That's right.
ZAHN: Theresa, how is your family getting along? This has been almost a five-month separation we're talking about here. How do you get through each day?
T. BARBER: We're doing really good. We do different activities together with the boys.
One of our nightly routines, every night, is to have their baths. And we pull off a link from a paper chain that we've made when my husband left on deployment. So now they've seen that the chain is getting shorter and shorter and daddy will be home soon and safe. And he'll bring everybody else home with him.
ZAHN: Now, your wife is down to one child on the lap. I think Troy (ph) is crawling around underneath a chair, Captain.
Just describe to us how you think the war is going. All of the military commanders say it's going on plan. But they make it very clear that the toughest part is yet to come.
B. BARBER: Yes. We certainly agree that, from what we've done so far, it's gone as advertised. But we know that there's heavy fighting to come and the, once we move into Baghdad, that's when the real test is going to be applied to us.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Daddy. Daddy, Mommy. Daddy.
B. BARBER: From an air wing side, from our perspective out here on the aircraft carrier, we've done an absolutely magnificent job. And it's a result of a lot of training and a lot of hard effort that's been put into it by everybody out here.
ZAHN: And your son Dane (ph) now is looking like he's really -- or is that Troy? -- enjoying his new hair cut there.
T. BARBER: That's right.
BLITZER: Theresa, is there anything you want to tell your husband about how the boys seem to be getting along?
T. BARBER: They're getting along real great, William. And they're getting to the age now to where they're wanting to play together as brothers and they're becoming real good playmates. And they're just real excited to have you home, so they can take you to some baseball games and read stories with them.
ZAHN: Theresa, I don't know when the next time is you will be able to talk to your husband, Bill.
(CROSSTALK)
ZAHN: You can feel free to ask him a question or two here. Go ahead, Theresa.
T. BARBER: OK.
How is everybody in the squadron doing out there?
B. BARBER: The squadron's doing really outstanding. Under Lieutenant Colonel Thomas (ph), we've just had great times for the entire deployment. And we don't really see any reason that we're not going to have a great rest of the deployment. We look forward to getting home, obviously, but we're right where we need to be at this particular time.
ZAHN: Well, I wish you could see this live picture, Captain, because your sons are adorable. And they're crawling all over the place, full of energy, and very happy to see you.
B. BARBER: I wish I could see them, too, but all in good time.
ZAHN: Well, we really appreciate your whole family letting us do this live on television.
I know, Theresa, it's a little intimidating sharing your conversation with millions of people out there, but thanks for letting us eavesdrop. And best of luck to your family. Again, thanks to all of you.
T. BARBER: Thank you for giving us the opportunity.
ZAHN: It's our pleasure.
B. BARBER: Thank you.
ZAHN: One of the amazing things you can do with the technology we have.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
