Thanks, Tonkin!
Posted on 10/16/2003 9:38:33 AM PDT by Ragtime Cowgirl
BY GAYE MAXSON
CORRESPONDENT
MASON CITY - Wedding day. Girls and their mothers dream about it for years, and the actual details often are planned for many months to get everything just right.
Everyone who knew Luke Bohm of Easton and Lindsay Blane of Mason City said they were meant to be together, and it was easy to imagine a picture-perfect wedding for the two.
But war changes priorities and the best-laid plans. With only 19 days to make arrangements, they were married Sunday while Luke was on a two-week mid-tour leave from his duty post in Iraq.
Luke and Lindsay, both 20, have known each other since fifth grade. They "dated" in middle school; one of their first pictures together is when both won the American Legion Award in eighth grade.
The high school sweethearts were voted homecoming king and queen and cutest couple of Illini Central High School Class of 2001. That summer they became engaged and planned to attend Western Illinois University. Together.
Then Luke joined the Army National Guard to help pay for college.
Looking back, Luke and Lindsay say it was a bad sign when his departure date for basic training fell on Sept. 11, 2001. Ever since, their plans have been on hold.
Lindsay went on to school, but between basic and advanced training, Luke managed only one semester. He has not been home since Feb. 2 when he left for Fort Campbell, Ky. In April he was sent to Kuwait, and for the past four months he has been in a loading and staging area at Camp Anaconda near Belad, Iraq, where he is a mechanic for cargo helicopters.
The most recent word was that he would be in Iraq until next April. The two hoped it would be safe to plan a wedding for June or July.
"We didn't have a specific date because he was supposed to be home for good by now," Lindsay said Friday night after a day of running around picking up rings, suits and other items.
"But they extended that twice, so that put a halt on our plans. Luckily I went ahead and got my dress this summer. I hated to make any plans or put any money down when I didn't know anything. You learn to make no plans."
"You learn there are no rules," Luke said. "They can do whatever they want with you."
After six months out of the country, F Company 106 Aviation of the Army National Guard from Peoria could start sending a few men at a time home for R&R. Luke was of the first picked.
"My company sent two people out of our 200, so I was really lucky to get out," Luke said.
Luke e-mailed Lindsay with the news a week before he was scheduled to arrive home on Oct. 1, and suggested they go ahead and tie the knot while they could.
He thought they could just go to the courthouse, but she wanted to be married in the church, even if it was just before their immediate families. She wanted a cousin in her bridal party and that opened a Pandora's box of aunts, uncles and first cousins. With large families on both sides, their guest list grew to 100 close relatives.
"My mom and his mom said I didn't have the time to deal with this since I was in school, so they dealt with it," Lindsay said.
"They just got on the phone and called everybody," Lindsay said. "If they had plans they changed them."
"From the Tuesday that I got the e-mail, the wedding was pretty much ready to go by Friday," she said.
Luke and Lindsay's mothers teach at Illini Central, and co-workers helped. Art teacher Rick Kehl, whose daughter Jenny was married last week, lent his talents.
"Her colors are exactly what I wanted, so he's letting me use all her flowers," Lindsay said. "He made my corsages this week."
Steve Henry, another teacher, agreed to take care of photos.
The Rev. Bill Liebmann at St. Paul's Lutheran Church in Havana arranged things at the church. He even managed to get hold of the Rev. John Beiderweiden, who had married Luke's parents and grandparents. In his first third-generation wedding, "Pastor B" read I Corinthians 13 in Sunday's ceremony.
"My teachers have been very accommodating, and I really appreciate that," Lindsay said.
"As soon as I told them about it, the women teachers said, 'Oh, that's so romantic. Bring me a picture.' The others said, 'OK, we'll let you off this time. Just e-mail us your papers.'"
Lindsay's bridesmaids had gotten their dresses last summer also, but it wasn't so easy for Luke.
"I had to change my groomsman because one is in Alabama and one is in Iraq," he said.
After a one-night honeymoon at the Crowne Plaza, Springfield, they have a free day today with Columbus Day closures. Tuesday, they need to wrap up legal paperwork as Mr. and Mrs., because Wednesday is their last day of Luke's leave.
"We're still planning on having a big reception next summer with all our friends and family," Lindsay said. That will include 100 or so of Luke's buddies now in Iraq.
Sunday, though, they were quite satisfied with a potluck dinner at Mike and Mary Bohm's country home.
"It couldn't have been a better day," Mary said. "(Even) the weather was perfect."
Great article! Thank you, thank Mike and his fellow F Company heroes in Balad. (^:
Ping for our awesome, inspirational troops and their families!
If you want on or off my Pro-Coalition ping list, please Freepmail me. Warning: it is a high volume ping list on good days. (Most days are good days).
Now I understand why people ask "but how does it play in Peoria?"
Hometown paper with a journalist who lives in the community and respects our military, 'kids' growing up together, parents both working at the same school, community helping to make this wedding possible...hope.
How un-PC.
(^;
Another reason mainstream readership continues to decline.
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