You have commented 339 times on Rantburg.

Your Name
Your e-mail (optional)
Website (optional)
My Original Nic        Pic-a-Nic        Sorry. Comments have been closed on this article.
Bold Italic Underline Strike Bullet Blockquote Small Big Link Squish Foto Photo
Afghanistan
Oregon parents accidentally hear son's firefight in Afghanistan on voice mail!
2008-05-06
Link to hear phone call here. Probably not fit for family viewing! :-)
An Oregon couple received a frightening phone call from their son in Afghanistan when he inadvertently called home during battle.

Stephen Phillips and other soldiers in his Army MP company were battling insurgents when his phone was pressed against his Humvee. It redialed and called his parents in the small Oregon town of Otis.

Sandie Petee, Phillips' mother, and her husband, Jeff Petee, weren't home at the time of the call. They returned home to find a three-minute voice mail on their answering machine. "His friend died a year ago in Iraq and I'm thinking, 'Oh my God, this may be the last time I hear my son's voice on the phone,'" Petee said.

They heard shooting, swearing and shouted pleas for more ammunition on the phone call from their son. "They were pinned down and apparently his barrel was overheating," said Jeff Petee. "It's something a parent really doesn't want to hear. It's a heck of a message to get from your son in Afghanistan."

The three-minute call ended abruptly. "You could hear him saying stuff like, he needs more f*cking ammo, or he needs another f*cking barrel," said John Petee, Phillips' brother. "At the end, you could hear a guy saying 'Incoming! F*cking RPG!' And then it cut off."

As soon as the voice mail stopped playing, the Petees began trying to reach their son in Afghanistan. The family figured out Petee had tried to call home earlier that day, but he didn't leave a message and the phone later redialed during battle.

They eventually reached their son. "I finally got a hold of him," Sandie Petee said. "He was embarrassed, he said, 'Don't let Grandma f*cking hear it.'"

Stephen Phillips is scheduled to return home next month, when his f*cking tour is complete, his mother said.
Posted by:gorb

#9  Slats Elmavimp7985, on behalf of all those who can't understand because they haven't the experience, thank you. Not everyone is as wise, and those who can't understand are as likely to take away the wrong idea about things as they are to become more supportive. Mr. Wife never quite recovered from the stories his uncle told -- with photos no less, the young idiot! -- about Green Beret humour in Viet Nam.
Posted by: trailing wife   2008-05-06 23:16  

#8  swksvolFF:

Thanks a lot, now I have Alan Sherman swimming thru my head!

Seriously, If more people heard what those parents did, i think it would only help the pro war ( as in anti surrender) side of the equation.

Agree w/ earlier post; I had stories I did not tell Mom, dad, Spouse or kids. Some scary, some stupid, some stupidly scary.....
Posted by: Slats Elmavimp7985   2008-05-06 14:13  

#7  Friend of mine returned home not too long ago - there were the stories he told the parents and spouse, then there were the stories he told his close friends.

Hung out some returnees in Dallas a few weeks ago - bought drinks, showed them pictures of the family and told them they thank them so much, how much what they do is appreciated. Some said that fighting fires was crazier than what they do (they were also curious as to whether firefighters really do throw crazy BBQs). I had to give them the larger praise, "When you are fighting a fire, there are certain rules with which the fire must abide to."

After re-reading this popped into my head.
"hello madda, hello fadda, here I am atta, camp by kabul. Life is good here, jihadis playing, and they say we'll have some fun if sharia stops its reigning.."
Posted by: swksvolFF   2008-05-06 11:37  

#6  For all the Moms and Dads out there who have Sons and Daughters serving... God Bless you and Thank Youse very much!!
Posted by: RD   2008-05-06 11:02  

#5  That's a call that must have raised the parent's pucker factor--I know it would for me.
Posted by: JohnQC   2008-05-06 09:54  

#4  And remember Stephen, don't run with scissors.
Posted by: Mom   2008-05-06 08:52  

#3  the other day my cell phone recorded probably the worst fight I have ever had with my spouse. It was a true and accurate PMS moment recorded for posterity.
Posted by: Sninert Black9312   2008-05-06 08:19  

#2  A few years ago, my wife's cell phone, lying at the bottom of her purse, got bumped and speed-dialed me at the office while she was in the checkout line at the grocery. Once I realized what was going on, I decided to have a little fun. I started calling "Let me out! Let me out! . . ."
Posted by: Mike   2008-05-06 08:08  

#1  Hi mom. Things are going well and ... bang, bang ... fuuuuuuck! Incoming!! things are same old same old. Take that, goat raper! Just want you not to worry. Everyone is treating me real well. Get me some more fucking ammo damnit! Anyway, tell dad I'll go fishing with him when I get back. Gotta run. Here they come gentlemen. Make your shots count, will you please? *click*
Posted by: DarthVader   2008-05-06 07:17  

00:00