Here's a chilling story, especially for parents: A U.S. soldier from a small town on the Oregon coast accidentally called his parents during an intense battle against insurgents in Afghanistan. The soldier's parents weren't home at the time, and when they arrived later they discovered a three-minute-long message on their answering machine, filled mostly with sounds of gunfire and frantic shouting. At the end of the message, a soldier yells a warning about incoming artillery, and then the message abruptly ends:
OTIS, Ore. -- 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 ammo, or he needs another barrel," said John Petee, Phillips' brother. "At the end, you could hear a guy saying 'Incoming! 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 hear it.'"
Stephen Phillips is scheduled to return home next month, when his tour is complete, his mother said.
1 comment:
That would be a nightmare of a message to get on your answering machine. His parents must have been FRANTIC. This has been a pleasant reminder for me to ALWAYS lock my phone when it's not in use (accidentally calling the parents could result in all sorts of uncomfortable situations, outside of possibly scaring them to death)...
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