Josh Clark, 21, of Amelia, is a graduate of Amelia High School and the son of Sue and Steve Clark.

His mother Sue writes:

Josh left for his regularly scheduled six-month deployment on Dec. 5. He is stationed on the USS Hawes, a frigate, commonly referred to as a "missile sponge." It is part of the USS Harry S. Truman battle group, which is somewhere in the Mediterranean Sea. One of the concerns is Saddam's practice of releasing mines to float freely in the "Med." He calls from every port that they visit and e-mails us a lot. We send him care packages at least once a month; things like Chex Mix and mixed nuts, pudding, Skyline Chili, candy, magazines and especially homemade cookies. I am amazed that it gets to him in less than a week.

I am so proud of him and the thousands of other men and women who are over there. I feel blessed that Josh is in a relatively safe place. My heart aches for the families of the men and women who are closer and on the ground. Our prayers go out to them each and every day.

If all goes according to plan, the USS Hawes will be back in port in Norfolk, Va., around the 5th or 6th of June. Our whole family plans on being at the pier waiting and watching and cheering as it pulls in!