When my son was stationed in Colorado, he met a girl, he thought was a sweet woman. She said she was separated from her husband, and she had 2 children. The relationship with our son was very stormy but when she said she was pregnant again, my son was thrilled. Before the baby was born, she threw him out and then he had to go back to Iraq. When he was home for a short 2 week leave after the baby was born, they reconnected and upon our (his parents) insistance, a DNA test was performed on all parties. It confirmed the baby was his and he was ecstatic.
Before he left, he gave her his ATM card and she spent over $10,000 in one month, shortly after he had bought everything the baby needed, filled her pantry and bought new furnishings, spending $4,000 in less than 2 weeks. After he found out about the spending, he terminated the ATM card and she broke up with him. She reunited with her husband, somehow with all that money, was evicted from their apartment and has disappeared after threatening my son with reporting him to the military if he tried to contact her. Gee, he wants to see his child, but now she claims that she never got the report from the hospital. Of course that's not true, there is a signed receipt from the post office.
We, his parents, who live far from Colorado, are trying to find her and using all means, but these are people who do not leave paper trails. Her husband believes her, or chooses to, so there is no way he can say someday that he "didn't know" who is the child's father.
My son is coming home from Iraq (he spent over 12 months there the first time and 15 months this time) and is determined to find his child. So, not all dads are deadbeats and some want to be a father to their children more than anything else in the entire world. We have never met our grandchild and wonder if we will. It is a lose/lose situation so far, but hopefully it will change. So...imagine if you're in Iraq and basically hog-tied from doing anything!
