{"id":356,"date":"2008-12-23T15:16:49","date_gmt":"2008-12-23T22:16:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localdev.bransontourist.com\/?p=356"},"modified":"2008-12-23T15:17:25","modified_gmt":"2008-12-23T22:17:25","slug":"branson-woman-awaits-the-return-of-her-husband-from-iraq","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bransontourist.com\/branson-woman-awaits-the-return-of-her-husband-from-iraq\/","title":{"rendered":"Branson Woman Awaits the Return of Her Husband From Iraq"},"content":{"rendered":"

Awaiting husband\u2019s return from Iraq is tough duty all its own – It\u2019s like only half of you is there<\/strong><\/p>\n

The waiting takes it\u2019s own type of courage and fortitude. Alicia Caperton can tell you that. \u201cYou hear about it all the time, but you don’t really comprehend it until you go through it,” Caperton said, Her husband, Staff Sergeant Clinton Caperton is serving in Iraq with the U.S. Army Reserves. It is his second tour of duty there.<\/p>\n

In Iraq, Caperton serves with the 688th Engineer Mobile Augmentation Company (688 MAC).<\/p>\n

\u201cClinton’s unit looks for IEDs and clears them,\u201d Alicia said. \u201cHe runs a robot from a computer screen inside his armored vehicle (called a buffalo), and the robot checks out bombs to determine if Clinton and his crew can dismantle them, or if they need to call in a higher-level bomb squad.”<\/p>\n

Her husband\u2019s first tour of duty was in 2003-04, performing essentially the same task, \u201cexcept they didn’t have robots and Clinton was the driver\u201d Alicia said.<\/p>\n

He joined the Army Reserves right out of Branson High School. \u201cIt was a big adventure,\u201d Alicia said. \u201cNow that he is married, older, wiser, he finds it more difficult. Before he used to give away his leave time, now he can\u2019t wait to come home.\u201d<\/p>\n

The couple live with the reality that after returning home, Clinton could be called back yet again to Iraq. Still, facing that possibility, Alicia said that, \u201cClinton loves his job and he’s very close to the men he serves with, he’s very much a military man. He’s very proud to have served his country.\u201d<\/p>\n

Originally from Colorado Springs, Colo., Alicia went to school at College of the Ozarks. After a stint with Dixie Stampede in Orlando, she played the heroine in The Shepherd of the Hills outdoor production. Clinton who had just returned from his first tour of duty in Iraq acted opposite her as the play\u2019s lead character Young Matt. The two onstage romantic leads fell in love for real and married in 2005 at Shepherd of the Hills, in \u201ca beautiful outdoor ceremony.\u201d<\/p>\n

Alicia presently works as a lead animal handler at Sight and Sound. One week after getting that job and a house, Clinton was called-up for another Iraq tour. \u201cI\u2019m extremely proud and glad he\u2019s serving his country,\u201d Alicia said. Clinton is the kind of soldier that, when you say duty, honor, and all that goes with it, he\u2019s the epitome of it. He takes it seriously, and he’s good at it.<\/p>\n

\u201cOn the other side, it\u2019s not easy. It’s kind of like going back to being single, without actually being single. All of the little things he took care of, now I have to do it on my own. He’s not there to give me the little hugs and things. And, when your husband is serving overseas you can’t just pick up the phone and call him.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are times when all I want is to hug him and hear his voice, and he’s not there,\u201d Alicia said. She has learned ways to cope with missing her husband. \u201cI call family members or another of the wives in the unit. Having my job at Sights and Sounds Theater helps a lot. I stay very busy, remind myself of how proud of him I am and why I love him, and I pray a lot.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am different from the other wives. I don’t listen a lot to reports on the news. I don’t dwell on it. I have also partially prepared myself\u2026 what if\u2026,\u201d she said. \u201cI don’t let it scare me, though, because I know with him, if he dies, he will have given his life for someone.\u201d<\/p>\n

There is some access for the couple to communicate. \u201cThis is a new kind of war, so to speak,\u201d Alicia said. \u201cNow we have internet and phone access. Clinton and I can sometimes chat one or two times a week. Five years ago, you couldn’t do this.\u201d She stills keeps the tradition of saving his letters and his voicemails for the children she and Clinton hope to have.<\/p>\n

Alicia also relies on the support from her unit’s Family Readiness Group, a command-sponsored organization of family members, volunteers, and soldiers that are associated with Caperton’s unit. She is especially grateful for the support given by other women in the FRG. \u201cYou think you know, but until you go through it you may have sympathy but not empathy,\u201d Alicia said. \u201cHearing what they are going through helps you remember that you’re not going through this alone.<\/p>\n

\u201cFamily and friends are great, but it’s just not the same. It’s like only half of you is there,\u201d Alicia said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Awaiting husband\u2019s return from Iraq is tough duty all its own – It\u2019s like only half of you is there The waiting takes it\u2019s own type of courage and fortitude. Alicia Caperton can tell you that. \u201cYou hear about it all the time, but you don’t really comprehend it until you go through it,” Caperton […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[161],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bransontourist.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/356"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bransontourist.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bransontourist.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bransontourist.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bransontourist.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=356"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bransontourist.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/356\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bransontourist.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=356"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bransontourist.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=356"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bransontourist.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=356"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}