Soldier reunites with grandparents in Kuwait

CAMP BUEHRING, KUWAIT

12.11.2006

Courtesy Story

40th Public Affairs Detachment

By Staff Sgt. Vernon Metcalfe
3rd Battalion, 297th Inf. Regt. PAO

CAMP BUEHRING, Kuwait – Spc. David Luntz had been at Camp Buehring, Kuwait, only a few days when a small bus pulled up next to him.

"It was one of our lieutenants and he was pointing and saying something about a grandfather and I was wondering, 'What is he talking about?' Then I looked and it was Richard and Martha in the car and I was like, 'Oh my God,'" said Luntz, his voice still showing the emotion of the moment.

Richard and Martha Luntz are David's grandparents and both have combat support jobs in Kuwait. Richard Luntz is a security supervisor in Kuwait City and Martha Luntz is an office manager at Camp Buehring, where David is stationed.

"Last time I saw David was in Tennessee and he was just a little guy. Now here he is a Soldier," said Richard Luntz, a retired Marine Corps noncommissioned officer.

Luntz was 12 the last time he saw his grandparents. He was living in Tennessee at the time, near his grandparents, but his family moved to Alaska and the three had not seen each other since.

When Luntz found out he was deploying to Kuwait, his father told him that his grandparents would be there, too. On his third day in Kuwait, he was working at the motor pool, when Martha Luntz and Richard Luntz pulled up in the bus to greet him.

"It was exciting," said Luntz.

Soldiering runs in the family, said Martha Luntz. "What we have is a Marine Corps father with three children who served in the Army and two grandchildren in the Army. So we are a military family," she said.

Luntz, 21, joined the Alaska National Guard three years ago in Fairbanks, where he lives with his wife and daughter. In his civilian career, he is a member of the Painter and Glazers Union, but he is considering a full-time career in the military.

Both David's father and mother are retired from active duty Army. His father served in the Middle East during Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm.

Luntz's grandparents have worked in Kuwait for more than three years, and they said they will consider going back to the U.S. in May. For their grandson, he doesn't need to make a decision; he is in Kuwait until the Army tells him to go home, which is expected to be next October.

"I am really glad that we are over here," said Richard Luntz, "that we can help if [David] needs something, just for him to be able to call. He's got someone to talk to."

• Date Taken: 12.11.2006
• Date Posted: 12.11.2006 14:11
• Story ID: 8537
• Location: CAMP BUEHRING, KW