Chaffee police chief returns from Kosovo

ST. CLAIR, Mo. -- While serving in the National Guard in Kosovo, Don Cobb said he saw children who were adept at navigating mine fields.

So accustomed to war and violence in the cold, eastern European country of Yugoslavia, children learn survival lessons and hatred at the same time they learn to talk.

Thursday morning at Orchard Park in St. Clair was a wonderful change of scenery for Cobb, a Scott City resident and Chaffee's chief of police.

Under a bright morning sun, Cobb's two boys -- Joshua, 6, and Caleb, 4 -- navigated a soggy soccer field not with fear, but with anticipation and love. Their daddy was coming home. Finally.

Once the benediction was given at the 2175th Military Police Company welcome-home ceremony, numerous camoflouge-clad men went to search for their families and loved ones who had been watching from folding chairs and bleachers.

Most of the families had welcome-home signs, but none was more touching than Caleb's.

"Daddy," it said above a picture of a United States flag, "You are my hero!"

Where's Specialist Cobb

Their hair hidden by berets, their black boots tied tightly up against their shins, it was difficult to tell the soldiers apart. Teresa, Cobb's wife; Judy, his mother; and his two boys couldn't immediately find their husband, son and father through all the commotion.

"Specialist Cobb!" Teresa said, slightly above a normal speaking voice. She glanced through and peeked around the dozens of reunions.

Joshua and Caleb were both turning in circles looking skyward for their daddy, who had been gone since late August and overseas since November.

"Specialist Cobb!" Teresa said, a little louder this time.

As if eight months of separation wasn't enough, the Cobb family seemed to be the only one not sharing hugs and kisses, and Teresa, Don's bride of 12 years, was growing increasingly impatient.

"Specialist Cobb!" Teresa shouted once more.

A soldier stopped by and asked Teresa whom she wanted. The soldier said he had seen Specialist Cobb and pointed her in his direction.

It was difficult to tell who spotted whom first.

The reunion was not as passionate as one might think. There was no mad sprint into each other's arms, no spinning in circles. Don simply picked up his sons, one in each arm, and let them hug his neck.

He put his children down, squatted and looked at them. There wasn't much said, other than Joshua telling his dad about his new contact lenses.

Don embraced his wife, too. It has been a rough time for Teresa, who is walking with a cane after having hip surgery to correct an arthritic problem. Don came back for 10 days following Teresa's hip surgery, but he missed Christmas, Thanksgiving, his wedding anniversary, Teresa's birthday, both boys' birthdays and most of Joshua's kindergarten year.

Single-mom's life

Teresa had to do the things Don normally did, such as give the boys morning baths, take them to school. She found out that being a single mother is difficult. When he was home, Don could watch the boys while she did the grocery shopping or pick them up from school if she was running late at work. Judy, Teresa's parents and friends helped ease the load, and Don did call often, but it just wasn't the same.

To make matters more difficult, Teresa broke her arm just before Don left. A long scar is left from the operation.

Teresa owns her own business, Pediatric Therapy Unlimited. She is an occupational therapist, a job she found she couldn't do as often with a broken arm.

She and Don said they are both thankful for the city of Chaffee, which paid Don his full salary while he was trying to police what he calls the "world's largest domestic" dispute.Don kept in communication with the department by e-mail while he was in Kosovo.

While Teresa struggled with physical and emotional distress back home, life wasn't luxurious for Don, either. Whether he was checking an abandoned grenade to see if it was active or not, searching for land mines or trying to establish order in an area of incessant hatred, Don did so in extreme weather conditions. At one point in January, there was 5 feet of snow on the ground. During the middle of winter, there was no sunshine at all. His recent past gave him all the more reason to appreciate Thursday morning.

Don, beloved in his small hometown of Chaffee, can't wait to get back to work. Today, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., the community has been invited to a welcome-home lunch in front of city hall. Judy says people from Oran to Morley have asked about Don all the time. They have followed Don's status through his occasional letters to the Scott County Signal newspaper.

Thursday morning before the Cobbs could go home, Don had to get his luggage from the bus, a short hike from the soccer field. With a son holding each hand, Teresa and Judy backed off and watched.

Once they reached the bus, Don hung one bag over his shoulder, but it wasn't quite as heavy now. A couple feet below, Caleb used his shoulder to lighten the load. Joshua was carrying a bag, too.

Ready to go home, the boys had found what they were looking for.

And, it was easy to tell, Dad did too.

bmiller@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 127