Call from Kuwait:
Rich Heine's Camp Target of Iraqi Scud

by Judy Silberstein

(March 20, 2003) At 8:30 this morning, Larchmont Fire Department personnel were nervously monitoring the television news for updates from the Iraqi warfront, where colleague Rich Heine is deployed as a medical corpsman with the Naval Reserves. Suddenly, the t.v. showed an Iraqi Scud missile exploding right where they had last caught sight of Heine during a weekend interview with Larchmont resident and Channel Two newsman Lou Young. Just as they began to fear the worst, the phone rang. To Captain Tom Andersen’s amazement, it was Rich Heine calling from Kuwait to let them know he was safe.

He had witnessed the shelling and bombardment in Iraq and Kuwait that began yesterday morning. For the moment, though, he was out of harm's way.

"It’s shocking," said Captain Andersen, Heine's fire department colleague and childhood friend. "We were watching the attack and he calls up on the phone. Can you imagine that happening in World War II?"

The firehouse has been keeping close tabs on Heine via e-mail, cellphones, television and letters. Captain Andersen had last spoken with his friend on St. Patrick’s Day, but Heine had warned that he would be incommunicado for the foreseeable future as his unit prepared for the next phase of the war with Iraq.

The Larchmont Fire Department had already been surprised when they caught sight of Heine being interviewed from Kuwait by CBS newsman Lou Young. Young had known Heine was being deployed to Kuwait, but never imagined he would bump into the fellow Larchmonter when he was sent to the region to cover the war for Channel Two.

It was just a fluke that the two men found each other. It was also a fluke that Heine found the phones still working this morning. “It’s like a ghost town here,” said Heine, describing how most of the soldiers have already moved on. For the moment that means no lines for the telephones.

Heine was anxious to allay everyone’s fears for his safety and to thank Andersen for the two large boxes from home. Heine’s friends and family have been sending a barrage of mail, but Andersen’s packages are the only ones to arrive so far. Newspapers, food, baby wipes, and assorted other supplies from Larchmont are now in the Kuwaiti desert with Heine.

The fifth graders at Chatsworth Avenue School are also concerned about Heine and are starting a letter-writing project. Principal Jane Hand called today to get an address so the children can communicate with Heine who grew up in Larchmont and graduated from Chatsworth School.

One Chatsworth student has already heard from Kuwait. When fourth grader Paul Andersen leaves for school tomorrow morning, he’ll be carrying a special letter to share with his class. The letter is the first he's received from his godfather, Rich Heine.

Photo of Lou Young from CBS 2