By KEITH GRANT
That's been the case since the war in Iraq began a week ago, a war that has the McGoverns' son, Mike, on its front lines.
"I'm so nervous," said McGovern's father, also Mike. "You don't stop thinking about it; you don't stop talking about it."
That was probably true in most American homes last week, but for the McGoverns, their son has no small part to play in the conflict. A combat engineer, 20-year-old Cpl. McGovern is responsible for fixing the heavy equipment of the First Marine Expeditionary Force at the front lines. Also a driver, he's likely been helping to clear the berms and mine fields of Iraq that have confronted the Marines since their invasion from Kuwait.
The television in the McGovern home has been working overtime as the war has progressed. But despite their anxiety, the family couldn't be prouder.
McGovern was born to be a Marine. As a kid, he worked endlessly on model tanks, hoping to drive them in the military. There was only one problem, his family said. He scored too high on his tests. The Marines don't assign you the job you want; they assign you the job they want you to do. So, thanks to his high test scores, McGovern became an engineer.
It was a natural fit for a young man who turned down a scholarship to Briarcliff College to sign a four-year commitment with the Marine Corps. A 2000 graduate of Long Beach High School, McGovern had excelled in technology courses.
That, combined with a love of history -- he has taken part in Civil War reenactments and practically "grew up" on the Intrepid museum, his mother said -- led him to the Marine Corps at age 17. With the support of his parents, Mike and Marguerite, he signed up for the delayed-entry program, in which he underwent regular training in preparation for boot camp. In July 2000, just a month out of Long Beach High, McGovern shipped out for 12 weeks of basic training at Parris Island, S.C.
The family recognized that it was the realization of a lifelong dream. "He wanted to be a Marine since he was 5 years old," his father said. "He wanted to be a Marine his whole life."
A full-sized Marine Corps flag still hangs in Mike's old bedroom, now occupied by his sister, Meaghan. According to their father, Meaghan, just 14, is almost as hooked on the idea of becoming a Marine as her big brother was.
The family last saw Mike on New Year's Day, when he surprised everyone with an unannounced visit just a week after saying goodbye.
"He came home for Christmas and we all said goodbye," his father recalled. His 24-hour return visit a week later was welcome relief for his family.
"I was so glad," his father said. "I was so happy he came back."
McGovern left for the Persian Gulf just five weeks ago. His parents received letters from various outposts in the Kuwaiti desert as the Marines moved continuously, preparing for their attack. The family's last letter came the day before the bombing began.
Mike's father says he would take his son's place in a heartbeat. "I would trade places with him," he said. "It's worse waiting for a knock on the door. I'd rather be there than here doing nothing."
Mr. McGovern Mike says that eating and sleeping have become difficult chores, made more so by the news last weekend of prisoners of war and the possible execution of some captured American soldiers. "I was pretty good until then," he said. "That really blew my mind. People wonder why we're over there, well ... maybe that's why."
As the war rages on, the McGovern TV will remain on, interrupted only by the continuing visits by friends and family. But none of the news takes away from the pride felt in this household.
"He went away a boy," said Mike's father, "but I know he's going to come back a man."
