The tearful gaze of a close friend. One more warm embrace from
his mother. The intense emotions of a final goodbye.
Those were the last memories Chris Baldwin expected to take from
Hollister as a drill sergeant picked him up Wednesday afternoon for
a three-year commitment to the U.S. Army.
The tearful gaze of a close friend. One more warm embrace from his mother. The intense emotions of a final goodbye.
Those were the last memories Chris Baldwin expected to take from Hollister as a drill sergeant picked him up Wednesday afternoon for a three-year commitment to the U.S. Army.
“That’s the worst part,” Chris said before saying goodbye, for at least three months, to many of the closest people in his life.
After circling the front lawn of his Las Palmas Drive home, moving from friend to friend, brother to mother giving handshakes and hugs, Chris finally made his way to Sgt. Andrew Hope’s white sedan parked on the street.
But Chris – who recently decided to join the military in a time when war looms – received one last memory from those same 16 well-wishers.
Almost immediately after the car pulled away, the group scurried into their own cars and trucks and drove off to another destination for a surprise Chris will likely never forget.
To buy time, Chris’ sister-in-law Elena had arranged for Sgt. Hope to drop off Army recruitment pamphlets at San Benito High School.
Upon arrival at the rally point on Highway 25 about a mile outside Hollister, Chris’ family and friends stood waiting on the highway’s shoulder – some on the pavement and others on top of truck cabs – holding signs that read “We’ll miss you,” “Good Luck at Fort Knox” and “I love you.”
Two small children stood side-by-side holding mini American flags flapping in the wind. One friend held the leash to Chris’ dog, Chipper, while waiting to cheer. Many in the group gripped red, white and blue balloons.
“When he drives by, let the balloons go,” yelled one family member.
As time and several white cars passed – all false alarms – Chris and Sgt. Hope finally drove by, escorted through an uplifting strip of supportive signs and cheering.
Chris raised his arm right back at them. The swiftly passing moment for the family and friends – and, it seemed, for an appreciative Chris – was well worth the effort.
A bold choice
Before the sendoff, Chris said he decided in December to enlist partly because of the growing tension in the Middle East and partly because he “always knew” since childhood he would eventually join the military. Chris, 20, grew up in the Los Angeles area before the Baldwins moved to Hollister when he was 13.
“I want to go fight for my country,” he said. “I want something to be proud of, that I can look back on later in life.”
Even though Chris said he realized his ambition almost three months ago, he waited until Feb. 24 to reveal the news to his family.
“We were shocked,” Elena said, “that Chris had gone off and done all this by himself without discussing it with too many people. It was just a decision he made.”
Elena said both Chris and his identical twin brother, Russell – both 2001 graduates of San Benito High School – had expressed a growing desire to join the Army since Sept. 11, 2001. Russell joined about a year ago and is currently stationed at Fort Lewis in Washington.
Chris will have his basic training at Fort Knox in Kentucky and said during that time he will strive to earn an invitation to Army Sniper School. In that case, the Army would station him at Fort Carson in Colorado, he said.
A close friend of the Baldwin twins, Bryan Rodriguez, also recently joined the Army. Elena said she and Rodriguez’s mother thought of the idea to wave flags and signs for Chris on Highway 25.
The sendoff was actually the second surprise Chris received this week. For his 20th birthday Saturday, the family threw a party, and unknown to Chris they had arranged for Russell to be flown in early that morning.
“It was pretty cool,” Chris said. “It was a surprise seeing him walk in the door.”
Russell may be deployed to the Middle East, according to Chris, in about four or five months. Elena said that possibility contributed to Chris’ decision. If Russell goes, she said, “Chris wanted to be there, too.”
“It scares me,” Chris said about the potential of seeing combat, “but someone has to fight for the country.”
As he reminisced with his older brother Mike, the minutes counting down before the rigors of a much less compromising lifestyle, Chris smoked one last cigarette while waiting for Sgt. Hope.
“I’m enjoying them while I can,” he said with a laugh.
