By Jonann Brady
As the twins were delivered, Rob's parents, who flew in from Georgia, contacted the Nassau County Red Cross in order to get the news to their son. Rob received the message while standing guard at 4 a.m. in an isolated region of South Korea.
"I was on a watch post, and first thing I knew I saw a car come flying through an area where there are no lights, no cars, no vehicles," recalled Rob, 29. "My first sergeant jumped out and he handed me a cell phone. He told me I was a new dad. ... He gave me a phone so I could call my wife. I talked about them all night long, so everybody in Korea knows I have twins."
The twins, who each weighed less than four pounds at birth, had to spend five weeks in the prenatal intensive care unit at Nassau University Medical Center. Frances and the doctors told Rob to wait for the twins to grow stronger before coming home.
"I was worried, but there was nothing I could do about it," said Rob.
Finally, the day before Valentine's Day, Rob flew into Kennedy airport from South Korea and was reunited with his family at their Baldwin home. "I picked him up from the airport, picked the kids up from the hospital, and took them all home," said Frances, 21.
"It was wonderful," said Rob.
The reunion was short-lived, however. On March 17, Rob was back on a plane to Korea. And like many other reservists and enlisted men and women, his future is uncertain as the country gears up for a war with Iraq.
DeFoor has no doubt what will happen if war is declared. "If there is a war, there is no choice," he said. "I would have to stay [in Korea]." A nuclear, biological and chemical operations specialist, his job is to detect and decontaminate hazardous areas, and though he would not be shipped to the Middle East, he would have to stay in South Korea, another trouble spot, indefinitely.
DeFoor's six-year official tour of duty with the Army is set to end Dec. 1. After that, he can decide whether to re-enlist, but would still be part of the reserves for another two years. At this point, it is uncertain when he will be home again to see his wife and newborn children.
Though wary about the future, DeFoor said he is ready to do his duty in the event of war. "I'm ready to do the work. These kids are twice the work I'm used to," he said with a laugh, and added, "I just wish it wasn't overseas."
