As Patrick Buckelew prepares to ship out for Texas and then Iraq this Father’s Day, he worries that his 2 1/2 year old son, Hudson, will forget him during his yearlong absence.

The 35-year-old Hartselle man is among 78 members of the 203rd Military Police Battalion from Athens – many of them fathers – who will have to learn to live without the ones they love for the next year.

They will have to learn to live without the wife who sleeps next to them at night.

The toddler who shrieks with delight when daddy comes home.

The teenage daughter who lives on the telephone.

The teenage son who will fill dad’s shoes.

The parents who try to mask their worry.

“This is my first deployment,” said Buckelew, an Army National Guard soldier who works as an environmental technician for NASA. “I’m nervous and anxious – all the above. My son – that’s the toughest part. I have a Web cam, so I will be able to see him and talk to him. But I worry about my son not remembering me when I get back. I’ll miss watching him grow.”

He also worries about his wife, Kim, having to take care of everything on the home front, including Hudson.

“I am blessed to have such a strong wife to take care of things at home,” he said. “I am very fortunate that my family and her family have a military background.”

Jimmy Black of Moulton, who will serve as chaplain with the 203rd, can’t imagine a year away from his wife, Sandra; 17-year-old son, Christopher; and 13-year-old daughter, Katelyn.

He wonders how they will manage.

“I am a schoolteacher at Courtland and I also run a farm with 20-head of cattle,” Black said. “My son will be in charge of them while I’m gone.”

Mainly, he wonders how he will manage missing them.

“I’m sorry I will have to miss my son’s high school graduation – we are very close,” Black said. “I will miss my daughter, too. She likes school ... and talking on the telephone,” he joked.