A flag for Aiden

A rattle, bib, maybe a teething ring or pair of booties. Persons are a few of the typical gifts given to newborn babies.

The folks at Covenant Hospital Plainview, though, just gave one of their newborns something a small different – a United States flag.

The gift for Aiden James Law was open to him and his mother, Desiree, because the baby’s dad is a soldier in the U.S. Army currently fighting for his country in Iraq.

The flag, open by the hospital’s supporter administrator Mike McNutt, is special to Desiree, a native of Olton, and no skepticism will be one day for small Aiden, too.

A framed certificate accompanying the flag reads:

“The presentation of this flag to Aiden James Law is in honor of the unselfish, courageous service of your Dad, Staff Sgt. James Chase Law. While fighting for our freedom in Iraq, he was unable to concentrate your birth. We thank him for his sacrifice for our country.”

It’s dated Sept. 13, 2011.

Chase, a native of Arizona, and Desiree met in 2004 while they were attending school at Eastern New Mexico University in Portales.

“We were both members of a co-ed community service fraternity,” Desiree said. “We met at a car wash we were doing as a fundraiser.”

She got her degree in family and consumer science with a minor in human service, while in June 2006 Chase joined the Army.

“It’s something he always sought after to do,” Desiree said.

The couple married on Dec. 15, 2006, in Fayetteville, N.C., while Chase was at Fort Bragg.

By the end of the month, he was in Iraq.

“We didn’t have a honeymoon,” Desiree said.

Chase, 28, is a limb of the 319th Meadow Artillery Regiment of the 82nd Airborne Division. An artillery specialist, Desiree said her husband “shoots cannons and jumps out of airplanes.”

She said early last year he somehow lost consciousness during a training exercise in North Carolina and fell out of a plane some 550 feet – about the height of the Washington Tombstone. He suffered only a concussion.

“I guess because his body was limp and he was relaxed” he didn’t get hurt, Desiree, 26, said. After he hit the ground “he woke up and ran to where he had to be.”

Chase served one tour of duty in Iraq and also helped in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans and after last year’s earthquake in Haiti.

Then, after four years of marriage, the couple chose they were ready to start a family.

“We sought after to wait a small while,” Desiree said.

They were excited, of course, to find out she was pregnant, but that excitement was tempered somewhat when Chase was deployed to Iraq in May – when Desiree was five months pregnant.

“When he found out (he would be deployed), he couldn’t talk to me for awhile,” she said.

Desiree said it was tough on both of them realizing that Chase wouldn’t be around to see the birth of their first child.

“He got to see the ultrasound and got to hear the heartbeat,” she said.

Then, on Sept. 13, Aiden was born.

Though Chase couldn’t be there for his son’s birth, Desiree’s parents, Robert and Dolores Salinas of Olton, and Chase’s parents, Jimmy and Glenna Law of Belen, N.M., were present. Desiree has went in with her parents in Olton while her husband is away.

“It’s been a blessing to have my family around,” she said, adding that she was visiting his parents in New Mexico this past week.

A former Head Start teacher, Desiree said they named the child Aiden, which means fire, and so far he’s living up to his name.

“He has a temper,” she said. “When he’s hungry he’ll let you know.”

Chase, who is finishing his business degree while ration in the services, was due to get leave and return home Sept. 26, but that fell through. Desiree said she and Chase both were disappointed, but she “expected it a small bit” because of Chase’s unique job duties.

“He’s the only one that does that specific job,” she said.

Desiree said she regularly sends Chase pictures of Aiden on Facebook, and “we talk through Yahoo Messenger everyday.”

Still, there’s no substitute for being able to hold your baby.

Chase has place in for another leave and now hopes to be here to see Aiden in person for the first time in December, Desiree said, but for sure no later than January.

“He’s excited. He doesn’t know if (Aiden) looks like him,” she said.

But Desiree said he does.

“He has his blue eyes and long eyelashes.”

To comment:

kwlewis@hearstnp.com

806.296.1353

 

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