Wedding precedes deployment
This morning, the bulk of soldiers attached to the 1st Battalion, 110th Infantry Headquarters unit will depart the Mount Pleasant armory for a six-month training stint at Camp Shelby, Miss., before spending a year in Iraq. Being away from home for a lengthy period of time requires preparation.
Spec. Ben Conrad knew when the unit was notified of its activation for duty that there would be plenty of details he would have to address before his departure.
The physical and mental part was easy. His job as a tree trimmer for Asplundh Tree Expert Co. and his regular military training would enable him to meet the challenges of carrying heavy equipment in a desert environment. His respect and commitment to his country was unwavering, and if duty called, he would go.
The paperwork associated with an 18-month tour of duty is always tedious, but with the help of the military and his family, his signature would appear on every dotted line.
When it came to the preparation of his heart and soul, however, that was a little tougher for the Albert Gallatin High School graduate.
Conrad, 22, said that as the time for his departure drew closer, it was time for him to make some very critical decisions that would help him face the future – whatever it might hold.
Along with his fiancée, Carrie Coldren, the two approached the pastor of the New Salem Presbyterian Church, the Rev. Marnie Abraham Russell, for guidance concerning his wanting to be baptized and marry his high school sweetheart.
“I wanted to be baptized for a long time, but it’s something I never got around to doing,” he said. “I’ve always had the faith. I guess I was looking for a church where I felt comfortable.”
Conrad admits that the unknown of what his unit might face on the Iraqi battlefield also swayed him to make public what he felt in his heart.
Russell said that while this was her first baptismal under these circumstances, she is sure other ministers during wartime have performed such services for parishioners.
“Being baptized was a big concern to him,” she said, adding that Conrad earlier had become a member of the congregation. “This proves that there aren’t atheists in foxholes.”
The minister said she readily agreed to perform the baptismal service and was not surprised when the sanctuary was filled with members of the Conrad and Coldren families and parishioners.
“They have a lot of support,” she said.
The two met while in the 10th grade, and for a while they were considered a couple, but eventually, the relationship evolved into a friendship more so than a romantic attachment.
The two graduated from high school, with Coldren pursuing a degree at Penn State Fayette, The Eberly Campus and Conrad heading south for basic training for the National Guard.
While he was there, the two exchanged letters, and when he returned home the attraction that had initially brought them together in high school, along with some growing up, brought them together again.
“I knew she was the one,” Conrad said as he reached for her hand.
The couple had planned to marry after Coldren graduated from college in May, a promise made to her father when the two became engaged the previous year.
But with the clock ticking toward Saturday’s departure, time was of the essence.
“He wanted us to wait until after I graduated, but he said it would be OK given the circumstances,” she said.
Just three weeks after making the decision to wed and less than a week after Conrad’s baptismal, Russell stood before the two and pronounced them husband and wife.
A brief honeymoon in Florida was nixed as the couple tackled the now family “to do” list before his departure.
“I’m going to keep busy while he’s gone,” said the bride. “I have to finish school and I’m going to continue working.”
With a large family, plenty of friends and a fully grown German shepherd given to her by her husband for companionship, the now Mrs. Conrad said she will have plenty of support while he serves his country.
“We’ll be all right,” she said. “We’ll take it one day at a time.”