A BREAK FROM BOMBS – The Eames Family’s United Through Reading Story
October 12, 2016
In 2006, Gunnery Sgt. Caleb Eames, USMC, had just moved his wife Monette and one-year-old son Jacob to San Diego, California when he received short notice that he would be deploying for the second time to Iraq. It was an extremely difficult and stressful time for him to deploy. Not only would he not be there to watch his new son grow and reach childhood milestones like taking his first steps and forming his first sentence, he would also be putting himself in harm’s way nearly every day clearing convoy routes of roadside bombs during one of the most violent times of conflict in Iraq.
About a month into his tour, Sgt. Eames finally had some free time where he did not have to be 100 percent focused on his life and the lives of his fellow Marines, so he was able to spend time thinking about his wonderful wife and young son that he left at home. All the emotions he had been compartmentalizing since the plane left his home in San Diego came rushing forward. He knew the best thing for him to do was to talk to someone. Sgt. Eames went to the Chaplain’s office on base and shared what he was going through. One of the Chaplain’s suggestions that might provide some relief was using United Through Reading. He could pick out a book, record it, and send it to his family, waiting for him at home.
Sgt. Eames selected The Rainbow Fish by Marcus Pfister, because of its message about finding friendship and happiness when you share with others. He also knew his son would like the shiny foil scales. Before reading it on camera he took a Sharpie and turned the book into “The Jacob Fish”, along with adding special messages like “Great job sharing, Jacob,” “We love Jacob,” throughout the book. On camera, he used fun voices to help tell the story and left another special message at the end telling his son and wife how much he loved them and how much he wished he could be home with them.
He sent the book home and left the United Through Reading recording room feeling more connected to his family, remembering how important it was for him to let his family in while he was deployed.
After receiving a few letters from her husband, Monette was surprised to find a United Through Reading package with a book and a video for Jacob. With Jacob on her lap, she put the video in the DVD player and pushed play. Daddy appeared on screen reading a book to Jacob like he had so many nights before he left. It felt like he was in the room with them. Jacob even went to the television trying to his touch dad.
Monette reminisces that Jacob was either watching The Wiggles, which were popular during that time, or his video of Daddy over and over again. She says, “Every time, I played the daddy video I had tears in my eyes and thought to myself how great it was that we could share family time, even with Caleb so far away.”
Since making his first United Through Reading video, Eames, now a Captain, has helped spread the word about United Through Reading. He has sent the Marines in all of his units to make their own videos for their loved ones. One of the junior Marines who made a video for his family shared, “He is constantly reminding us to stay connected with our family, especially when we are continually putting our lives at risk.”
In June 2016, Capt. Eames was transferred to the PAO Program in the School of Journalism & Media Studies at San Diego State University where he was, in his words, ‘serendipitously’ selected to be on the team creating a communication plan that spreads the word about United Through Reading to even more military families. The plan lets service members know that new media, like Skype and Facetime, are great ways to stay connected, but will never a replace a United Through Reading video that is reliable, accessible, and always available to the child.
Capt. Eames, Monette, Jacob (now 10), Boaz (7), and Hadassah (2) would like to thank United Through Reading for the huge impact on their lives. “It is such a great program, and we pray that more military families can and will use the program to bring their families together and make those connections stronger.”
Do you have a UTR Story to share?
We’d love to hear it. Contact: Stories@UTR.org