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American Morning
Home for the Holiday
Aired November 27, 2003 - 08:05 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.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: For some lucky U.S. troops, and we do mean lucky, Thanksgiving means the start of two weeks of stateside rest and relaxation. Arriving today in the U.S., Gary Tuchman standing by live in Atlanta with more at the airport there.
Gary, good morning.
GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Bill, good morning to you. Within the next hour, hundreds of U.S. servicemen and women will be coming home here to the Atlanta airport for two weeks of rest and recuperation after serving in Iraq. But on the other hand, while many people are coming home for joyous reunions on this Thanksgiving, other U.S. servicemen and women are leaving to go back to Iraq after two weeks home.
And with us is one of the U.S. Army personnel going back. This is Private First Class Dorie Melhorn from Bristol, Florida near Tampa. Private, how do you feel about going back to Iraq on Thanksgiving Day?
PFC. DORIE MELHORN, U.S. ARMY: Well, I was happy just to get my R&R, but I miss my family very much already.
TUCHMAN: I know you left Tampa late last night, come here to Atlanta for your flight back to Iraq. How hard was it to say good-bye to your mom and your dad and your siblings?
MELHORN: It's impossible. You know, it was very hard.
TUCHMAN: What did you say to them as you left to go on the plane in Tampa?
MELHORN: I'll be back as soon as I can. Don't worry about me.
TUCHMAN: And what did they say to you?
MELHORN: Don't worry.
TUCHMAN: They are worried, aren't they? It's hard for them to see you go back?
MELHORN: Yes.
TUCHMAN: Well we wish you, Private First Class, the best as you go back to Iraq. And please be safe. And we wish you a happy Thanksgiving.
MELHORN: Thank you. TUCHMAN: What would you like to say to your mom and dad one more time?
MELHORN: Happy Thanksgiving mom, dad, Patsy and all the rest of the family.
TUCHMAN: Thank you very much. Thank you very much. You can see very happy day at the airport today, but also a very melancholy, sad, emotional day for others going back. Bill, back to you.
HEMMER: Indeed showing a lot of strength there, too. Gary, thanks. Gary Tuchman in Atlanta, we'll check in with Gary throughout the morning here. Appreciate it.
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 November 27, 2003 - 08:05 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: For some lucky U.S. troops, and we do mean lucky, Thanksgiving means the start of two weeks of stateside rest and relaxation. Arriving today in the U.S., Gary Tuchman standing by live in Atlanta with more at the airport there.
Gary, good morning.
GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Bill, good morning to you. Within the next hour, hundreds of U.S. servicemen and women will be coming home here to the Atlanta airport for two weeks of rest and recuperation after serving in Iraq. But on the other hand, while many people are coming home for joyous reunions on this Thanksgiving, other U.S. servicemen and women are leaving to go back to Iraq after two weeks home.
And with us is one of the U.S. Army personnel going back. This is Private First Class Dorie Melhorn from Bristol, Florida near Tampa. Private, how do you feel about going back to Iraq on Thanksgiving Day?
PFC. DORIE MELHORN, U.S. ARMY: Well, I was happy just to get my R&R, but I miss my family very much already.
TUCHMAN: I know you left Tampa late last night, come here to Atlanta for your flight back to Iraq. How hard was it to say good-bye to your mom and your dad and your siblings?
MELHORN: It's impossible. You know, it was very hard.
TUCHMAN: What did you say to them as you left to go on the plane in Tampa?
MELHORN: I'll be back as soon as I can. Don't worry about me.
TUCHMAN: And what did they say to you?
MELHORN: Don't worry.
TUCHMAN: They are worried, aren't they? It's hard for them to see you go back?
MELHORN: Yes.
TUCHMAN: Well we wish you, Private First Class, the best as you go back to Iraq. And please be safe. And we wish you a happy Thanksgiving.
MELHORN: Thank you. TUCHMAN: What would you like to say to your mom and dad one more time?
MELHORN: Happy Thanksgiving mom, dad, Patsy and all the rest of the family.
TUCHMAN: Thank you very much. Thank you very much. You can see very happy day at the airport today, but also a very melancholy, sad, emotional day for others going back. Bill, back to you.
HEMMER: Indeed showing a lot of strength there, too. Gary, thanks. Gary Tuchman in Atlanta, we'll check in with Gary throughout the morning here. Appreciate it.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
