Soldier views birth via Net
N.C.s Dyer in Iraq when his twins were born
PINEHURST - The 6,500 miles that separated Army Cpl. Jesse Dyer and his expectant wife, April, became mere inches Friday.
As the nervous dad-to-be squinted at a computer screen in Balad, Iraq, repeatedly asking if his wife was OK, April Dyer was on an operating table at First Health Moore Regional Hospital in Pinehurst.
Then, at 1:58 p.m. Friday (9:58 p.m. Iraq time), it happened.
A physicians assistant lifted a newborn infant into the Web cameras view. Cpl. Dyer saw his daughter for the first time.
A minute later, he saw his son.
The Caesarean section births of Nathaniel Allan Dyer and his twin sister, Ashlee Faye, mark the first time the hospital has streamed video of a birth over the Internet.
One of Cpl. Dyers superior officers told him the Army would allow him to watch the twins birth over the Internet as long as Moore Regional could accommodate it.
That wasnt possible when April, 23, checked into the hospital on Thursday. But after she asked about it, a hospital worker went out and bought a couple of digital video cameras.
In the delivery room, a nurse held the video camera, which had been sterilized and connected to a laptop. The couple could see each other and talk over Yahoo! Messenger.
The children are the couples first. They married nearly three years ago.
Cpl. Dyer, 28, is a former Marine now serving in the Armys 320th Field Artillery of the 101st Airborne Division, based at Fort Campbell, Ky.
Jesse Dyer said he hopes his children follow the family tradition of military service, April Dyer said.
"Even if they dont go into it, he wants them to support the service," she said.
Oh Dubya, (sniff) what a wonderful story. I'm a sucker for these kind of stories. But then my son says I cry at commercials, but this is soooooooooo wonderful.