Heather Lynn Byers says she knows what drives her husband Brandon to stay in the Army — after all, that’s where she met and fell in love with him.

“I understand a lot of that love and affection, that dedication that a soldier has, to fight for our country,” says Heather, who once fueled Apache helicopters. “If I didn’t have a child I’d be there right now. I would sign the papers today, but with being a mother it’s a different story.”

The distance between Illinois and Afghanistan — several time zones and thousands of miles apart — doesn’t keep husband and wife from staying in touch. The pair communicate two or three times a week by cell phone, and also by Yahoo instant messenger and even Web cam, where Brandon can see their 1-month-old daughter, Jocey. Brandon also has a 12-year-old daughter, Michaela, whom he shares e-mails with frequently.

Brandon graduated from Northwest Whitfield High School in 1994 and spent some time at Dalton State College, but felt the itch to do something more. He decided to join the Army, enlisting in May of 1996, and did two tours in Korea (Camps Stanley and Casey) and one in Tikrit, Iraq, before landing in Afghanistan. He is currently stationed in Bagram.

A petroleum supply specialist, Byers is a platoon sergeant in the 101st Airborne, overseeing refueling stations for heavy equipment and helicopters.

It was in Iraq while he was running security for an encampment that he was injured by an improvised explosive device (IED). He was recently awarded the Purple Heart.

“The explosive was heat-seeking and he actually saw it from the Humvee they were driving in before they came upon it,” said Floyd Byers, Brandon’s father. “He yelled at his driver but it was too late. Brandon got shrapnel in his leg and arm, spent a few days on bed rest, then returned to duty. No one else was injured. As a father, you wouldn’t choose the armed forces for your child because you know they could get hurt. But while he was in Korea he told me, ‘Dad, that’s my job.’

“I was praying about him leaving (for Iraq), and it was if the Lord spoke to me and said, ‘I take care of him here, I can take care of him there.’ I pray for him daily, but I don’t worry about him. As a parent your emotions can be torn up daily if you let it happen, especially if you watch the news. I don’t know how I’d deal with it if the Lord didn’t help me.”

Brandon stays in touch with his father, grandmother Ophia and aunt Brenda also. They’ve learned the ins and outs of e-mail, and can also get in touch by cell phone.

Asked via e-mail what is the toughest part of being away from home, Byers responded, “Not being able to see my wife and little girls. It is hard not being able to see them walk for the first time, hear their first words, and not having my wife to be there at night to vent to and tell me it will be OK.”

“If I call him it costs a fortune,” Floyd Byers said, “but not if he calls me.” Heather Lynn buys phone cards online that are specific for Afghanistan since they talk so often.

Ophia Byers, Brandon’s grandmother, has daughter Brenda help her with e-mail.

“I call him my No. 1 Koo-Koo,” she said in sharing the nickname of her first grandchild. “He was always so special. He would come by and mow the grass, and then we would sit and talk for a long time. I write letters to him, too.”

The Byers clan is close. The last time Brandon was stateside more than 20 family members showed up for a get-together after he told his dad the thing he wanted most was a steak. Other family include his mother, Sharon, stepmother Damaris Byers, and grandmother Frances Weaver. Sisters are Lacey Byers and Heather Byers LaBarbera, who is the director of basketball operations for the University of Georgia Lady Bulldogs basketball team.

“I love to send him something encouraging like ‘Our Daily Bread’ (devotionals) and stories with Scriptures,” said Brenda. “I’m so proud of him, along with about a zillion other young people who have joined our military.”