Holiday `bittersweet' for some realty pros

For the dozens of Century 21 MoneyWorld agents who have family in the military serving in Iraq, today's holiday has special meaning.

Magdalana Chonis, an agent at the company's Summerlin office, said this Fourth of July will be "bittersweet." Her husband of 10 years, Michael, is a chief in the Navy deployed on the U.S.S. John C. Stennis, an aircraft carrier.

"On one hand I'm very proud because my husband will be serving our great country, but on the other hand I wish he was here to spend quality time with me and his family. I miss him," Chonis said.

Chonis said she spends her time exchanging e-mails with her husband and working.

"My job with MoneyWorld is 24/7, so I'm very busy. I don't know where my days go sometimes, which is good because I don't have as much time to worry about him," she said.

Despite the hardship and separation of deployment, Chonis said she cannot imagine her husband working at any other job.

"He's absolutely married to the Navy. He really loves his job and always has. One of his fears is that something will happen to me and he'll not be here," she said.

Worry is part of life for MoneyWorld agent Catherine Schaffer, whose husband, Kevin, a staff sergeant in the Air Force, returned from Iraq last year. Her son Josh, 22, has been deployed in the Navy.

Schaffer, herself an Army reservist of almost 20 years, was activated after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks to serve an 18-month tour.

Schaffer said she knows the "right things to say and do" to support the troops.

"I stay positive and try to send little treats to the guys I think they would like -- peanuts and prepackaged cookies, music and movies for their portable DVD players," she said.

Schaffer agreed working at a busy realty office helps.

"One of the nice things we did at our Sahara office was participate in the program where the sales of teddy bears went to buy cards for our servicemen and women overseas," she said.

Although their son is still away, today is special for Catherine and Kevin Schaffer because they will be together.

"My husband and I don't take our relationship for granted," she said.

She planned to decorate her neighborhood today with 200 American flags.

James Suitor, an agent in the company's Summerlin office, said the holiday would be difficult for his family and "all families with sons and daughters in the military."

Suitor's son Chris, 28, is a Marine on his second tour in Iraq as a combat engineer with an infantry unit.

"He goes on patrol and finds and destroys landmines and explosives," Suitor said.

"Chris graduated from boot camp on the Fourth of July two years ago and last year he was on an aircraft carrier on the way home on July 4. This fourth is a tougher one."

"Chris has a very supportive family. We're proud of him and believe in him and that what he is doing is right. He thought long and hard and joined the Marines at the age of 26 because after Sept. 11, 2001, he felt the need to do something about it rather than talk about it."

For Suitor, the hardest part of having a son at war is "not knowing from day to day about Chris' safety and not knowing when he will return."

Suitor himself is a Vietnam veteran.

"For me it's harder having a son in combat than when I was in combat in Vietnam," he said.

Patrice O'Connor, an agent in the company's Green Valley office, said today is special because her 20-year-old son, Connor Casey, a Marine, is home from Iraq.

Casey, a lance corporal with the First Tank Battalion, "was there when we first rolled out," O'Connor said. "He was one of the first troops and went to all the hot spots. He had his supply lines cut, was ambushed and had to take parts from the Humvees to keep radios going."

"The heat, the sand and the fleas were overwhelming. And when that tank went into the river -- that was his battalion. He lost four of his friends," she said.

O'Connor's biggest fear was that Casey, who has siblings ages 18, 9 and 7, would stop to help a child and would be hurt.

"A mother's imagination is a dangerous thing. I would watch nonstop television coverage of the war after the younger kids went to bed, convinced that I would see him on TV," she said.

Fortunately, during that time her real estate business took a leap.

"I sold 17 houses in three weeks, so I became really busy and that helped," she said. "And my clients gave me tons of support. I had clients as far away from Ireland call to see how he was doing. I had at least 10 calls a week."

Finally, on June 23 last year, Casey called home at 3 a.m. from the U.S.S. Boxer with 400 soldiers behind him in line to say he would be returning.

"He wanted to know if he was a hero or if there were some bad feelings like with the Vietnam vets. I said, `Honey, you're a hero.'

"Now that I have learned the way people live over there I'm much more thankful for our freedom. But I'm hoping Connor is here for next Fourth of July," she said.

Century 21 MoneyWorld has four offices in the Las Vegas Valley.

Real Estate home