Hunter Army Airfield — Sgt. 1st Class Crystal Allen placed her two young children in her mother’s care and boarded a plane Wednesday for Europe. Her husband is waiting for her there. They are among about 3,800 soldiers from Fort Stewart who have been ordered to Germany in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
This is not the couple’s first deployment. They returned home just seven months ago from a nine-month mission in South Korea with the 3rd Infantry Division’s 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team. As she waited to get on the plane, Crystal Allen credited relatives for helping her family juggle everything, including looking after her 10-year-old son and 5-year-old daughter.
“Without our family support, we wouldn’t be able to do what we do,” Allen said, adding about her kids: “I miss them terribly, but they are fully taken care of. My family spoils them so much.”
Her departure fell on Ash Wednesday, which marks the start of Lent, a time of fasting and reflection. Pope Francis called on believers to pray Wednesday for Ukrainians.
In all, President Joe Biden has directed 7,000 U.S. service members to Germany in the wake of Russia’s attack on Ukraine.
The war has created a humanitarian crisis, claiming the lives of more than 2,000 Ukrainian civilians and destroying hundreds of structures, including hospitals, schools and homes, Reuters reported based on information from Ukraine’s emergency service. Meanwhile, about 660,000 refugees have fled Ukraine to neighboring countries, according to the United Nations Refugee Agency.
During his State of the Union address Tuesday, Biden acknowledged the Ukrainian ambassador to the United States, Oksana Markarova, before First Lady Jill Biden hugged her.
“Let each of us here tonight in this chamber send an unmistakable signal to Ukraine and to the world,” the president said. “Please rise if you are able and show that, yes, we the United States of America stand with the Ukrainian people.”
At the airfield in Savannah Wednesday, Maj. Gen. Charles Costanza, commanding general of the 3rd Infantry Division, gave the departing soldiers a fist bump as they boarded the plane. He also repeated “Rock of the Marne,” a reference to the division’s heroic fighting near the Marne River in France during World War I. Savannah Mayor Van Johnson stood next to Costanza, telling the soldiers “God bless.”
“I see the best of America here,” Johnson said moments before. “Our responsibility is to make sure we look after their family members while they are gone. The last thing they need to be thinking about while they are there is about what is happening here. So, as a city and as a military community, we will do that.”
Credit: Stephen B. Morton for The Atlanta Journal Constitution
Credit: Stephen B. Morton for The Atlanta Journal Constitution
Staff Sgt. Kurtis Cox was among the roughly 180 troops who boarded the plane for Germany Wednesday. The tank gunner is leaving behind his wife and their 8-month-old son.
“I am sad because I will miss his first birthday. He is my whole world,” the Indiana native said. “If he were older, he would understand the reason why I am here.”
Cox highlighted that some of his ancestors served in the U.S. military, including a grandfather who fought for the Union Army during the Civil War.
“It’s very prideful moment,” Cox said of his deployment to Germany, “but also a moment that I hope is not necessary.”
Credit: Stephen B. Morton for The Atlanta Journal Constitution
Credit: Stephen B. Morton for The Atlanta Journal Constitution
Sgt. Marissa Elizardo and her husband, Cpl. Michael Elizardo, boarded the flight to Germany together. They got married on Sept. 26 after returning from South Korea, their first overseas deployment. They met in the military. A Texas native, she likes his confidence. Her husband, who is from New Hampshire, likes her independence. They plan to eventually have kids.
He underscored that for months he and his wife have been able to live together and spend a lot of time in each other’s company. It won’t be the same in Germany.
“Definitely,” he said, “that transition will probably be the hardest for me at least. I don’t know about her.”
She agreed, adding she was seeking a seat next to him on the plane.
“It is a good thing we are supporting our allies and NATO and helping Ukraine any way we can,” she said.
Her husband said he appreciates the historic nature of their deployment and the fact that they get to do it together.
“Who gets to do that?”
Credit: Stephen B. Morton for The Atlanta Journal Constitution
Credit: Stephen B. Morton for The Atlanta Journal Constitution
About the Author
