Home, safe and sound

Judy Anders said her knees “turned to rubber” shortly after the news flashed that a plane of the type her husband Greg was flying, an A-10, went down, and Greg’s squadron commander was on the phone, beginning the conversation by saying, “It’s about Greg.”

Air Force Major Greg Anders thought about his wife and two kids -- Chris, age 9, and Alison, age 6 -- as he took off on his first three missions over Iraq. “I thought about where it would leave my family if I didn’t come back,” Greg said. “Later on, however, Greg considered his flights as simply “a job to do.”

One might assume that Valerie Anders, Greg’s mom, would have gotten used to seeing loved ones going off to war, since Greg was the third generation member of the Anders family to serve in the military.

Her husband Bill was a member of the “Apollo 8” crew that orbited the moon seven months prior to the first moon landing in 1969. Bill’s father Arthur Anders was wounded so badly while second in command of a gun boat in China in 1937 that he had to use his own blood to write an order to the crew to “Abandon ship!” because he was unable to talk. Arthur Anders survived the ordeal, but he never fully recovered.

Valerie described herself as feeling “like a cheerleader” while her husband was orbiting the moon, but she admitted that the feelings were very different when her son was at risk. “You’re more vulnerable,” she said.

Fortunately, the squadron commander was calling Judy Anders to report that Greg was OK. And about 50 Orcas islanders were all smiles when Greg and his dad touched down at the Eastsound Airport Saturday to welcome Greg back home.

Among those on hand for the happy reunion were Judy and the kids, who hadn’t seen Greg since Dec. 27, 2002. No wonder Greg’s first few minutes were spent hugging and kissing the most important people in his life.

Greg knew that his family would be there, but he had no idea about the surprise welcome from the others, which was arranged primarily by Jack Coe, and which featured an impromptu concert by members of the Orcas Island Community Band. Islanders hid inside the Anders hangar until Greg and his family reached the gate. At that moment the gate went up, the band started to play, people waved flags, and everybody cheered.

Greg was deeply touched. “I loved coming home,” he said. “It was nice feeling welcomed, even by people I didn’t know.”

The hangar was filled with signs honoring the man whose parents live on Orcas. One of them read “An American Hero.” But Greg rejected the plaudits. “I got the better war stories, but the real heroes are the families,” he said.

Although Greg Anders comes from a long tradition of military service, his father and grandfather never pressured him to follow in their footsteps. The fourth of six kids, he was told by both his mom and dad to “Blaze your own trail.” Only Greg has made the military his career.

Greg, Judy and the kids regularly visit their parents, coming up from their home in nearby Bow. But they will soon be moving to Bellingham, where Greg will continue his efforts to create the Heritage Flight Museum, a project of the Anders family.

While primarily a civilian, Greg continues to be a Major with the Boise (Idaho) National Guard. On Dec. 27 he was called up to active duty and sent to Kuwait. During the war he flew the A-10, the so-called “wart hog,” the main mission of which was to destroy enemy tanks. Greg said he had several close calls. “It was a very threatening environment,” he said. “They didn’t want us to do our job, and we didn’t want them to do theirs.”

Compounding the stress was the fact that he was limited to one call call home a week, while in Kuwait, and not at all while he was flying out of Iraqi air space.

Greg intends to serve in the National Guard, and he will serve his country again if needed, he said.

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