Shortening the miles: Marine shares major moment in wife's pregnancy while deployed

Photo By Cpl. Ryan Young | Lance Cpl. Daniel Jordan, an aviation operations specialist with Marine Wing Headquarters Squadron 2, turns up the speaker volume to hear the sound of his unborn child's heartbeat during a video teleconference, March 14. The family spent nearly two hours talking and viewing images of their baby during the VTC.  

AL ASAD, IRAQ

03.22.2009

Story by Cpl. Ryan Young 

II Marine Expeditionary Force   

AL ASAD AIR BASE, Iraq – On the monitor is a smiling woman, happy to see her husband in such clarity and to hear his voice without the fear of losing the phone signal. The doctor's office she is in is full of people with the occasional glimpse of family members and a local news agency's cameraman in the background. Watching the excitement live, thousands of miles away, is a Marine, her husband, currently deployed to Iraq and waiting to hear the word ... boy or girl.

Lance Cpl. Daniel Jordan, an aviation operations specialist with a Marine Wing Headquarters Squadron 2 detachment aboard Camp Korean Village, Iraq, spent, March 14, speaking with his wife Lauren as a Troy, Mich., ultrasound technician conducted an ultrasound to determine the current condition of their baby as well as if the family should be expecting a boy or girl.

"It was great to see her on a big screen and talk to her without a delay like we get out here with phone calls," said Jordan. "It was an uplifting experience."

While the VTC itself included a live feed of video and voice transmissions, Jordan was also able to watch web-streaming video of the sonogram through a Web site the imaging center provided.

"I saw everything right along with her and it made us both extremely happy," explained Jordan. "It was the next best thing from actually being there."

The idea of sharing the discovery of the baby's gender together came when Lauren Jordan learned about the Freedom Calls Foundation on a military supporter's Web page, said Jordan. His wife contacted them and began to work out the details.

"I told my command what was being planned and they fully supported the effort," said Jordan. "I am really impressed with Freedom Calls. They flew to Michigan to set it all up and seemed just as excited as us for the whole thing."

The Freedom Calls Foundation operates call centers at seven military camps in Iraq and Kuwait, and conduct upward of 2,000 VTC events a month, according to John Harlow, the Freedom Calls Foundation executive director and founder.

"The family was fantastic to work with, as are all of our families," said Harlow. "There is nothing more important to these families than the ability to keep in touch during deployments."

The Jordan family has already experienced one previous deployment, but with their first child on the way, every opportunity to connect is greeted with gratitude, said Jordan.

The nurse showed the Jordan family their baby on the ultrasound screen, pointing out the arms and features of the face, and gave Jordan a chance to hear his child's heartbeat. After some slight movements with the ultrasound, the nurse pauses and asks if they would like to know the gender of the baby. The answer is a resounding "Yes!"

The Jordan's are now expecting a baby girl.

For more information on the ongoing mission in Iraq's Al Anbar province, visit www.iimefpublic.usmc.mil/iimeffwd.

• Date Taken: 03.22.2009
• Date Posted: 03.22.2009 13:50
• Story ID: 31460
• Location: AL ASAD, IQ