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CNN Live Sunday

Interview With the Mack Family

Aired May 25, 2003 - 16:16   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.


FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: It's an extra special Memorial Day weekend for sailors aboard the USS Nassau. After nine months at sea, they're headed home from the war with Iraq. The Navy ship is bringing Marines back to Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. CNN's Gary Tuchman is just outside the North Carolina base waiting with those anxious families who can't wait to see their loved ones get off that ship -- Gary.
GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fredricka, hello to you. And you are right. Memorial Day weekend is homecoming weekend here in North Carolina. Aboard that ship right now, five Marine Harrier pilots will be leaving the ship momentarily and arriving here at the Cedar Point Marine Corps Air Station within an hour. That will be one homecoming. And then tomorrow, another homecoming. Huge. Twenty- three hundred Marines returning to the nearby Camp Lejeune.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TUCHMAN (voice-over): It was August 2002, when the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit deployed from its base at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina. Twenty-three hundred Marines expected to be back in February. It did not work out that way. They ended up in combat, in "Operation Iraqi Freedom". But only arriving there after first participating in operations and exercises in Kosovo, Djibouti and Kenya. So it was a tired but determined contingent that arrived in Iraq.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Keep your eyes on the roof. That's where the bad guys are going to show up.

TUCHMAN: Three weeks after the war began, they prepared for a battle with the Iraqi 10th Division. Iraqis showed up but with white flags. Their uniforms off. With their fears diminishing and their spirits rising, Marine demolition teams took care of some business. And encountered grateful Iraqis on their missions. And then, an image nobody there will ever forget. U.S. Marine Kuter al-Amiri (ph), born in Iraq and now serving as a translator for his new country, is reunited with a son he was forced to leave behind. The last time he saw his family was during the first Gulf War when he was fighting against Saddam Hussein. Al-Amiri (ph) now lives in the Seattle area. But here in his hometown of Pala Zukhar (ph), he was received as a hero.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good, good!

TUCHMAN: Less than a week later, these Marines encountered some more heroes, the American POWs The former prisoners were flown to the Iraqi base where the Marines were located. It was certainly a celebratory time. And now, more celebrations. As the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit arrives back home in North Carolina.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TUCHMAN: So the big homecoming tomorrow at Camp Lejeune, and to clarify, the smaller homecoming that happens within an hour with the pilots is here at Cherry Point. I said Cedar Point. Cedar Point is a fine amusement park in Ohio but it's not where we are right now. This is Cherry Point, North Carolina. And with us, at Cherry Point, North Carolina, is the family of one of the Harrier pilots, Captain Andy Mack, who will be coming back within an hour. This right here is Jennifer. And Jennifer, I'm going to pick up the sunglasses that your little daughter, Natalie, dropped. And this is Andy's parents. This is Dick and Gerri. How are you feeling right now, knowing your husband is coming home after nine months away?

JENNIFER MACK, WIFE OF PILOT: Very excited. Especially for him to see our daughter.

TUCHMAN: I mean, your daughter, 17 months old. That means your husband has missed more than half her life.

J MACK: Right, and he missed a lot of the big things. Her first steps. So it will be exciting to see them reunited.

TUCHMAN: How difficult has this been for you?

J MACK: It hasn't been as difficult as I thought it would be. We had great support within the family and on base, and I think makes all the difference.

TUCHMAN: Well, you are one tough woman with a beautiful little daughter. Let me talk to your in-laws right now. How are you feeling, dad, about your son coming home?

DICK MACK, FATHER OF PILOT: I am feeling proud. Pretty proud.

TUCHMAN: You must be. What a feeling for a father.

D MACK: It is a great feeling.

TUCHMAN: Tell me how this has been for you, knowing your son has been flying out there on dangerous missions over Baghdad. How has it felt watching the news and knowing what was going on?

D MACK: Well, we knew he was piloting a great plane, and he was a good pilot. I felt pretty comfortable with him.

TUCHMAN: These are the Harriers behind us. This is the kind of equipment he's flying.

Gerri, I want to ask you. You know a lot about the missions. What kind of missions was your son flying during the war? GERRI MACK, MOTHER OF PILOT: According to my CNN investigations and e-mailing my son with code almost, he told me more about it with Baghdad and Basra and Tikrit, the places he seemed to be flying. I'd ask him questions and he'd say affirmative or negative, and that was how we kind of figured it out.

TUCHMAN: He would talk like that to a mom. As a mom, how frightened were you?

G MACK: It was hard. It really was. But I actually -- it helped to watch the TV coverage. So I could find out if everybody was getting back safely and things weren't out of control, so ...

TUCHMAN: Congratulations to all of you. It's been a tough time for you and the other families who have had loved ones gone for so long. But it's about to get much easier. Fredricka, back to you.

WHITFIELD: As early as tomorrow. Thanks a lot, Gary, from Cherry Point, North Carolina.

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 25, 2003 - 16:16   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: It's an extra special Memorial Day weekend for sailors aboard the USS Nassau. After nine months at sea, they're headed home from the war with Iraq. The Navy ship is bringing Marines back to Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. CNN's Gary Tuchman is just outside the North Carolina base waiting with those anxious families who can't wait to see their loved ones get off that ship -- Gary.
GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fredricka, hello to you. And you are right. Memorial Day weekend is homecoming weekend here in North Carolina. Aboard that ship right now, five Marine Harrier pilots will be leaving the ship momentarily and arriving here at the Cedar Point Marine Corps Air Station within an hour. That will be one homecoming. And then tomorrow, another homecoming. Huge. Twenty- three hundred Marines returning to the nearby Camp Lejeune.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TUCHMAN (voice-over): It was August 2002, when the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit deployed from its base at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina. Twenty-three hundred Marines expected to be back in February. It did not work out that way. They ended up in combat, in "Operation Iraqi Freedom". But only arriving there after first participating in operations and exercises in Kosovo, Djibouti and Kenya. So it was a tired but determined contingent that arrived in Iraq.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Keep your eyes on the roof. That's where the bad guys are going to show up.

TUCHMAN: Three weeks after the war began, they prepared for a battle with the Iraqi 10th Division. Iraqis showed up but with white flags. Their uniforms off. With their fears diminishing and their spirits rising, Marine demolition teams took care of some business. And encountered grateful Iraqis on their missions. And then, an image nobody there will ever forget. U.S. Marine Kuter al-Amiri (ph), born in Iraq and now serving as a translator for his new country, is reunited with a son he was forced to leave behind. The last time he saw his family was during the first Gulf War when he was fighting against Saddam Hussein. Al-Amiri (ph) now lives in the Seattle area. But here in his hometown of Pala Zukhar (ph), he was received as a hero.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good, good!

TUCHMAN: Less than a week later, these Marines encountered some more heroes, the American POWs The former prisoners were flown to the Iraqi base where the Marines were located. It was certainly a celebratory time. And now, more celebrations. As the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit arrives back home in North Carolina.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TUCHMAN: So the big homecoming tomorrow at Camp Lejeune, and to clarify, the smaller homecoming that happens within an hour with the pilots is here at Cherry Point. I said Cedar Point. Cedar Point is a fine amusement park in Ohio but it's not where we are right now. This is Cherry Point, North Carolina. And with us, at Cherry Point, North Carolina, is the family of one of the Harrier pilots, Captain Andy Mack, who will be coming back within an hour. This right here is Jennifer. And Jennifer, I'm going to pick up the sunglasses that your little daughter, Natalie, dropped. And this is Andy's parents. This is Dick and Gerri. How are you feeling right now, knowing your husband is coming home after nine months away?

JENNIFER MACK, WIFE OF PILOT: Very excited. Especially for him to see our daughter.

TUCHMAN: I mean, your daughter, 17 months old. That means your husband has missed more than half her life.

J MACK: Right, and he missed a lot of the big things. Her first steps. So it will be exciting to see them reunited.

TUCHMAN: How difficult has this been for you?

J MACK: It hasn't been as difficult as I thought it would be. We had great support within the family and on base, and I think makes all the difference.

TUCHMAN: Well, you are one tough woman with a beautiful little daughter. Let me talk to your in-laws right now. How are you feeling, dad, about your son coming home?

DICK MACK, FATHER OF PILOT: I am feeling proud. Pretty proud.

TUCHMAN: You must be. What a feeling for a father.

D MACK: It is a great feeling.

TUCHMAN: Tell me how this has been for you, knowing your son has been flying out there on dangerous missions over Baghdad. How has it felt watching the news and knowing what was going on?

D MACK: Well, we knew he was piloting a great plane, and he was a good pilot. I felt pretty comfortable with him.

TUCHMAN: These are the Harriers behind us. This is the kind of equipment he's flying.

Gerri, I want to ask you. You know a lot about the missions. What kind of missions was your son flying during the war? GERRI MACK, MOTHER OF PILOT: According to my CNN investigations and e-mailing my son with code almost, he told me more about it with Baghdad and Basra and Tikrit, the places he seemed to be flying. I'd ask him questions and he'd say affirmative or negative, and that was how we kind of figured it out.

TUCHMAN: He would talk like that to a mom. As a mom, how frightened were you?

G MACK: It was hard. It really was. But I actually -- it helped to watch the TV coverage. So I could find out if everybody was getting back safely and things weren't out of control, so ...

TUCHMAN: Congratulations to all of you. It's been a tough time for you and the other families who have had loved ones gone for so long. But it's about to get much easier. Fredricka, back to you.

WHITFIELD: As early as tomorrow. Thanks a lot, Gary, from Cherry Point, North Carolina.

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