Susan McDaniel Havre Daily News smcdaniel@havredailynews.com
He had only been at Fort Lewis, Wash., for two weeks when he got the call to return home. Gene Liese returned to Havre just in time to meet his new daughter, Cassie. The 9 pound 3 ounce girl was born Wednesday at Northern Montana Hospital. Kathy Howard Liese was also eager to see her new husband, who had left for army basic training shortly after their marriage last July. The trip home is a short one because Liese is due back at Fort Lewis on Friday and is scheduled for deployment to Iraq on March 21. His deployment is scheduled to last for one year. The year has been a busy one for Gene Liese. Graduating from Harlem High School in 2006, Liese then went on to attend and graduate from a firefighting school. Then it was on to 11 weeks in basic training at Fort Jackson, S.C. for battalion infantry. The largest and most active Initial Entry Training Center in the U.S. Army, Fort Jackson provides basic combat training for half of all soldiers in the army. Liese was a squad leader during basic. After basic, Liese attended advanced individual training for another eight weeks at Fort Leonard Wood, Md. It is in AIT that soldiers learn about the conditions that they will be facing when they are deployed and are trained in how to survive them. In addition to her parents, Cassie is joining an older sister Katie who is three. Gene Liese is the son of Gerald Liese of Havre and Francine Doney Hawley of Hays. His grandparents are Herman and Marybelle Liese of Harlem. Kathy Liese is the daughter of Dallas and Linda Howard of Fort Belknap, and the granddaughter of Sarah Doney of Lodgepole. The new family will be making its home at Fort Lewis. Kathy and the children will be returning to Washington with Gene when he flies out of Great Falls on Thursday. She is looking forward to the move. “It will be good to be closer to where he is and they have a good support system there,” Kathy said. “They are all young mothers like me.” Fort Lewis is a self-sustaining city. It Operates its own fire department, electric utilities, water system and sewage treatment system and maintains more than 700 miles of roads. More than 19,000 soldiers, 29,000 family members, 120,000 retirees and approximately 5,000 civilian personnel train, work and live at Fort Lewis. It has shopping centers, theaters, restaurants, laundries, a hospital, an airport, office buildings, garages, motor pools and maintenance facilities, as well as vast areas of pristine wilderness. Because of the hectic life that the young couple have had this last year, they were not prepared for a move to a new state so shortly after having a child. They will be starting their new life with very few possessions. “Everything has happened so fast. We thought we had everything worked out, but ...,” Kathy said. Gene’s father, Gerald, and family friend Leland DuBois are planning to have a benefit dance to be held at the Havre VFW Club. His mother and stepfather will bring what furniture and possessions that they have later by truck. The family asks that any donations that could help the young couple begin their new life be sent in care of David and Nancy Neeley, 9919 126th St. E., Puyallup, WA 98373.
