MONROE - For the Scace family, time is both precious - because so little of it is spent together - and an honor - because so much of it is spent in service to the military.
Staff Sgt. Darrell Scace came home safely to his family in Monroe on Jan. 11, 2007, after being deployed for 14 months in Bagram, Afghanistan.
He is deploying again, this time to Iraq with the C Company, 2-127th Infantry Battalion from Fond Du Lac.
Along with 3,500 other Wisconsin soldiers, Scace's unit will be part of the largest deployment of Wisconsin soldiers since World War II. Company C from Fond du Lac is part of the National Guard's largest unit, the 32nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team. A formal sendoff for the entire unit is planned for Tuesday in Madison.
"We want people to be aware there are still soldiers and families sacrificing for their freedoms right here in their own community," Mary De Zee, Scace's wife, said.
"The most important thing that I want to emphasize is how proud we are of Darrell," she said Thursday. "We know Americans can sleep safely in their beds at night, because of the work he and all of our soldiers do during deployments. We support him and his fellow soldiers and their families 100 percent. I feel this obviously goes without saying, but it is simply something I feel so strongly (about) and (it) is ingrained in our everyday lives."
Scace was at home Saturday, preparing to leave and wanting to spend time alone with his family before he goes, because he hadn't been home much in the last few months.
He has been in Fond Du Lac for several weeks with the unit he is deploying with, and they were in Florida for three weeks before that with other units for weapons training.
"I got assigned to this company in December 2008, so I am fairly new to this company. Before that I worked full-time in Madison. I worked for Bravo Company (military Intelligence) Brigade special troops battalion," Scace said in an e-mail to The Monroe Times Friday.
Scace has been in the Army for almost 18 years, joining April 17, 1991.
The tour of duty to Iraq is expected to be 12 months, including two months of training in Texas mid-February and shipping out by the end of February.
De Zee said their daughters Ava, 5, and Mya, 3, are faced daily with making sacrifices for the freedom of all Americans.
"They know firsthand what it means to sacrifice for freedom, because they will have missed their daddy for over two years of their lives after this deployment is completed, and there is nothing that can replace that time," De Zee said.
De Zee already knows what the sacrifices will be this time around.
"He will miss all of the holidays and Mya's fourth birthday and Ava's sixth birthday, Ava's first day of kindergarten, school programs, the girls' dance recital ... and all the other family events," De Zee said.
But the simple things that so many people take for granted every day are going to be the things that will be missed the most, De Zee said
"The things that we will miss the most are not necessarily big events but the girls being able to greet Daddy at the door when he gets home from work, having him tuck them into bed and say their prayers and kiss them goodnight, being able to play on the swingset or go swimming, just simply watching a movie or playing a game, or knowing Daddy is safe," she said.
Scace's first deployment was difficult for the family. The absence of their daddy was represented by the empty seat at the dinner table, De Zee said in 2006.
Mya was born just days before her father was deployed Nov. 1, 2005, with the 232nd Military Intelligence Unit from Madison, and Ava celebrated her third birthday in 2006 without her father. The family observed Christmas 2006 without him, and waited to celebrate it again when he came home safely.
The girls' uncle, Darrell's brother, Sergeant First Class Austin Scace was deployed to Iraq from 2007 until 2008.
"In their short lives, they will have seen three deployments and, God willing, three homecomings," De Zee said about the girls.
De Zee asks people to continue their support of the soldiers and their families regardless of their position on the war.
Staff Sgt. Darrell Scace came home safely to his family in Monroe on Jan. 11, 2007, after being deployed for 14 months in Bagram, Afghanistan.
He is deploying again, this time to Iraq with the C Company, 2-127th Infantry Battalion from Fond Du Lac.
Along with 3,500 other Wisconsin soldiers, Scace's unit will be part of the largest deployment of Wisconsin soldiers since World War II. Company C from Fond du Lac is part of the National Guard's largest unit, the 32nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team. A formal sendoff for the entire unit is planned for Tuesday in Madison.
"We want people to be aware there are still soldiers and families sacrificing for their freedoms right here in their own community," Mary De Zee, Scace's wife, said.
"The most important thing that I want to emphasize is how proud we are of Darrell," she said Thursday. "We know Americans can sleep safely in their beds at night, because of the work he and all of our soldiers do during deployments. We support him and his fellow soldiers and their families 100 percent. I feel this obviously goes without saying, but it is simply something I feel so strongly (about) and (it) is ingrained in our everyday lives."
Scace was at home Saturday, preparing to leave and wanting to spend time alone with his family before he goes, because he hadn't been home much in the last few months.
He has been in Fond Du Lac for several weeks with the unit he is deploying with, and they were in Florida for three weeks before that with other units for weapons training.
"I got assigned to this company in December 2008, so I am fairly new to this company. Before that I worked full-time in Madison. I worked for Bravo Company (military Intelligence) Brigade special troops battalion," Scace said in an e-mail to The Monroe Times Friday.
Scace has been in the Army for almost 18 years, joining April 17, 1991.
The tour of duty to Iraq is expected to be 12 months, including two months of training in Texas mid-February and shipping out by the end of February.
De Zee said their daughters Ava, 5, and Mya, 3, are faced daily with making sacrifices for the freedom of all Americans.
"They know firsthand what it means to sacrifice for freedom, because they will have missed their daddy for over two years of their lives after this deployment is completed, and there is nothing that can replace that time," De Zee said.
De Zee already knows what the sacrifices will be this time around.
"He will miss all of the holidays and Mya's fourth birthday and Ava's sixth birthday, Ava's first day of kindergarten, school programs, the girls' dance recital ... and all the other family events," De Zee said.
But the simple things that so many people take for granted every day are going to be the things that will be missed the most, De Zee said
"The things that we will miss the most are not necessarily big events but the girls being able to greet Daddy at the door when he gets home from work, having him tuck them into bed and say their prayers and kiss them goodnight, being able to play on the swingset or go swimming, just simply watching a movie or playing a game, or knowing Daddy is safe," she said.
Scace's first deployment was difficult for the family. The absence of their daddy was represented by the empty seat at the dinner table, De Zee said in 2006.
Mya was born just days before her father was deployed Nov. 1, 2005, with the 232nd Military Intelligence Unit from Madison, and Ava celebrated her third birthday in 2006 without her father. The family observed Christmas 2006 without him, and waited to celebrate it again when he came home safely.
The girls' uncle, Darrell's brother, Sergeant First Class Austin Scace was deployed to Iraq from 2007 until 2008.
"In their short lives, they will have seen three deployments and, God willing, three homecomings," De Zee said about the girls.
De Zee asks people to continue their support of the soldiers and their families regardless of their position on the war.