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For local families of soldiers, 'it's not really over'

Delighted parents nevertheless warn their children to beware of reprisal in Baghdad.

Military families across the Tampa Bay area reacted to Saddam Hussein's capture with a mixture of joy and caution, in a celebration that stopped short of euphoria.

Parents and spouses exulted over the news that the U.S. military had snared its most coveted prize. But they were nervous, too, because everyone understood their relatives still face danger in Iraq.

"I think it's a time for celebration, but I'm not sure to what level we should be celebrating," said Pamela Radczenko of St. Petersburg, whose son Michael Thomas Myers, 27, is an Army specialist in Baghdad. As delighted as she was Sunday, she said she e-mailed her son and "I basically told him to please watch his back, that this is not a time to let his guard down."

"It was relief and excitement, and I was very proud for all of them," said Darlene Southby, 41, of Largo, whose son Matthew Goodner is an Army specialist serving in Iraq. But at the same time, she said, "I was fearful for some retaliation and an increase in attacks on them."

"It's not really over until they find the rest of them," said Beverly Gray, who lives in St. Petersburg, speaking of Hussein's loyal followers. "A lot of people believe in him."

Nonetheless, she fell to her knees and thanked God when her daughter called at 9 a.m. to tell her the news. Gray's son, John Leon Gray Jr., 37, is a staff sergeant with the 4th Infantry Division, the same division whose soldiers captured Hussein. She last spoke with her son Wednesday and hopes to hear from him soon.

Charles Southby says his stepson, Goodner, is constantly aware of the dangers of Iraq, including suicide bombers and insurgents who attack U.S. soldiers.

"Every time they go out, they have that in the back of their mind," said Southby, 38, a maintenance supervisor. He said Goodner was so apprehensive about the war in September that he confided, "Mom, Dad, I know I have a bullet with my name on it."

The dangers stay on Southby's mind too. He last spoke to Goodner, a medic with the 204th Forward Support Battalion of the 4th Infantry Division, during the Thanksgiving holiday. "He said he was on a mission and I can't tell you about it," Southby said.

After hearing the news Sunday, "I was almost in tears," Southby said. "It's been a long, grueling time for him."

Inverness resident John Stewart, 57, said he worries every day about his daughter-in-law, Frieja Stewart, who is stationed with the Army in Iraq. But now he will "worry a little bit less," he said.

"She's a sergeant, and she's aboard a Black Hawk helicopter flying med-evac missions, so she's still in a dangerous place," Stewart said. "Every time I hear about a Black Hawk going down, it just gives me the chills."

For Dennis and Georgene Bender of Seffner, it has been quite a week. On Thursday, they cheered like mad when their younger son's football team, Armwood High School, won a state championship. On Saturday night they met with Florida National Guard officials who said their older son could return in February from Iraq. Then, shortly after 7 a.m. Sunday, a friend called with the news about Hussein.

The whole week gave Mrs. Bender "an adrenaline rush like I haven't had since college." Their older son, Gregory Bender, 21, is with the 2nd Battalion of the 124th Infantry Regiment of the Florida National Guard, stationed in Iraq.

"I didn't think that's where he needed to be for his 21st birthday, but then I realized that's exactly where he would have wanted to be," his mother said.