European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - February 19, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 6 a the stars and stripes tuesday february 19,1991war in the Gulf saudi lonely private s letter from Home a shocker ,. By the new York times in saudi Arabia a pals of . Army private Michael Hoey Are still trying to figure out the Odds of that kind of connection repeating itself. Hoey 24, says he was feeling lonely last week. There had not been any mail from Back Home Injo i Eurmond ind., for Days. H a having no mail is a drag a he said. So he picked up one of the a a any soldiers letters that have been sent to saudi Arabia in recent months by hundreds of thousands of americans seeking to lift the spirits of . Troops they have never met. Hoey insists he picked the letter at random. It had no return address. He ripped open the envelope. A my name is Jennifer Hoey a the letter began Quot a a a a a. A it. �?o1 hats my sister a the private told an american Pool reporter. A i. Thought a wow this is Inczedi a a  a a a Quot a a a a a a a. A a a a. A a a. A. A cousins in army Reserve share much in common Van Wert Ohio apr Charles Kennedy Iii and Charles Steele Are cousins. Each served in Vietnam. Each is married with three kids. Twice their wives gave birth Only Days apart and the other two children share the same birthday seven Yeats  has a child on duty in saudi Arabia and on Jan. 24, Kennedy and Steele both 43 and both army reservists were1 told to report to fort Ben Ning a. The cousins Are attorneys and Are helping other soldiers write wills set up Powers of  and Clear up Legal matters Steele said. A we Are connected a said Kennedy a wife Jane. A i done to know Why they have to do everything  additionally Kennedy a son Michael Kennedy 21, was sent to saudi Arabia with the 101st airborne div in August Steele a daughter Jennifer Steele Fiegle 21, of the 1487th Ohio National guard trans co followed in january. Desert storm s veterans relaxation afloat / by Charles p. Wallace. Los Angeles times a. Aboard the Cunard Princess under a White and red Banner which read a Welcome aboard desert shield troops a a female Soldier jogged past in form fitting Lycra shorts and a to shirt emblazoned with a distinctly Unmil itary message a dare to  a this is our love boat our recreation ship a said a Marine guard toting an m-16 Rifle about the Only person in sight wearing a uniform. The snip in question is the Cunard Princess a British luxury liner chartered by the Pentagon As a rest and recreation spot for . Troops involved in operation desert storm. Men and women serving in saudi Arabia Are occasionally Given three Days off for a break aboard the Princess the Only place in the conservative Gulf where a or amp re Tours Are scheduled. A Western official in the Region said that the idea behind the Princess was to a reduce the Security threat and save  for Security reasons the soldiers and sailors Are confined aboard the Princess when it is in port. Apart from that and warnings to avoid outrageous of violent behaviour they Are free to do what they like. There Are no uniforms no salutes and no military discipline on Board. A a we re All civilians right now a at least we re pretending to be a said Mark Cardosi a 20-year-old Soldier from Farmington . A there is absolutely no military atmosphere though you know everybody else is a  a a a a. A. A for Many the main attraction of their three Day visit to the Princess is the bar. Unlike saudi Arabia where Many soldiers have been stuck since Iraq invaded Kuwait last August alcohol flows freely aboard the ship. A a it a wonderful a that first Beer in five months was a cold one a said Jeffrey Freddie 24, of Houston. A a in a afraid i had a hard time waking up this morning amp after what i drank last  As Freddie noted for Many of the Young enlisted men aboard the visit to the Princess is the first Chance in their lives when they can drink legally because the drinking age for Many Back Home is 21. No age limit is enforced aboard the ship. After five months in the saudi desert another major attraction is merely the Freedom to socialize freely with the opposite sex even if the encounters Are by necessity Brief. Aboard the Princess a i Haven to had to buy a drink yet a said one enlisted woman who estimated that about 5 percent of the passengers were women. One Soldier said that a Good percentage of the troops aboard ship had made a prearranged rendezvous with women soldiers that they had met on duty Back in saudi Arabia. Quot once on Board while allocation of Cabin space is segregated by sexes the barriers Are not enforced. A Soldier named Jaye mentioned that he had not been to sleep the night before. Asked what he had been doing he replied a a that a  after five months of hard duty in saudi Arabia he said a a in a  while the soldiers would have preferred to be flown to a country such As Thailand which is considerably More Liberal than the persian Gulf countries a this is All they could provide a Jaye said. He added that everybody hoped that the War in the Gulf would be so Short that longer leaves would not be practical. Since military discipline is not enforced Touchy subjects such As fraternization Between enlisted ranks and officers were not the kind of problem that they might be on a military facility. A nobody asks who is an officer and who is an enlisted Man a Freddie said. A they done to want to  the Princess has two floor shows one from Las vegas and one involving bands from Britain and Argentina. There is also a discotheque and a video room where movies Are shown As Well As a swimming Pool and racquetball courts. Many of the soldiers spoke of the frenetic Pace aboard the ship because the soldiers have Only a Short break after five months of service a in  a we try to pack it in for three Days do everything in just three Days a Cardosi said. A i Only slept for three hours last night. I done to want to waste my time sleeping. I can do that when i get  ready to go after i birth mom by Connie Cass. The associated press Clarksville term. A anticipating duty in the persian Gulf reservist Christy Mathews  had Little time to find the Mother who gave her away 19 years ago and to Tell her a i  a hectic search brought Only a few clues Mathews Mother was 18 when she gave up her Newborn baby had dropped out of High school and was unmarried. Mathews had almost Given up Hope when on feb. 7, she left her Russiaville ind., Home for training at fort Campbell by. Her deployment was Only weeks away. The next evening she called Home to talk to the parents who raised her Jim and Jean Mathews. A a we found her a mrs. Mathews said. At that moment Karen raef sat trembling in the Mathews living room just hours after learning her lost daughter was alive and headed to War. Race worried what her daughter would think about the Mother who gave her up. A you did what you had to do and move you for it a Mathews told her. Both Mother and daughter struggled to speak through their sobs. Quot a each year i wondered what i amp is she look like what is she doing a raef said. A i never thought i would see you  going to saudi Arabia would be easier now the reservist said because she Felt  then she told two worried mothers what they wanted to hear most a a in a coming Home mom you know  mrs. Mathews taped the conversation. She Hopes to play it for grandchildren one Day. A i never Felt threatened by her need to find her birth Mother a mrs. Mathews said. A she told me once a i have to find her before i go to saudi Arabia because i might not come  can you say no to that a Mother and daughter met for the first time this weekend at a Motel Here during the few hours Christy could slip away from her training with the army reserves 199th Supply co at nearby fort Campbell. For More than a minute there were no words Only a tearful embrace. Then Christy Mathews was surrounded by 15 relatives she had never met a grandparents aunts Hal Brothers and cousins who came from Indiana and Illinois to meet her. Family photographs were passed around. Over and Over Mathews recognized in the pictures her own round Brown eyes slightly thick nose and Brown hair. She Learned she and her Mother both collect Ceramic cats prefer water to any other drink and love the color peach. Since she was 6 years old Christy Mathews had asked about her birth Mother. After her 18th birthday she began searching seriously. Indiana Law barred the unseating of her adoption records. All she could do was put her name on a registry and Hope her birth Mother did the same. But raef did no to know she could file such a request. A they Tell the birth Mother you done to have the right to look for them a she said. A they really made that Strong a that once you signed that paper you have no  Christy Mathews searched City records and pleaded with adoption officials. Then the family took her Case to the news Media. Mrs. Mathews wrote letters to newspapers and television shows across the country asking that her daughters Story be told. She Hung posters in grocery stores and Gas stations. Race who lives 30 Miles away in Lafayette ind never saw the news reports or posters. A an Anonymous caller on feb. 6 suggested that Christy smother was living in Central Indiana. That Call eventually led mrs. Mathews to Christy a Grandfather and after that her Mother. _ , Icenur it Quot to her bin Mathews at fort Campbell Kvil