Father and Son Reunited
Legionnaires succeed in bringing family together

By Steve Brooks 08.02.2002
Editor

The American Legion is an organization that was created to help veterans.But the mission doesn't stop there. Steve DuBois will testify to that point.

DuBois, a member of Fair Oaks Post 383 in Fair Oaks, Calif., and his family saw firsthand what Legionnaires are willing to do for active-duty servicemembers and their families. In the process, father Josh DuBois was reunited with his son, 4-year-old Anthony.

Legionnaires in the Departments of California and France - with input from National Headquarters staff - were able to cut through red tape, establishing full parental sponsorship for Josh and paving the way for Anthony's plane ride to Hanau, Germany, to live with his father.

"I feel like I finally have closure," Josh said. "It's finally over, and I have my son with me. It's hard to explain how I feel. I'm just relieved we can move on as a family."
Josh's relief is understandable, considering what he and his family went through in order to reunite him with his son.

In November, Josh - a specialist E-4 stationed with C Battery, 5th Battalion, 7th Air Defense Artillery unit in Hanau - was awarded custody of Anthony, who at the time was in the custody of Child Protective Services in Sacramento County. But Josh had been in Germany since July, so the courts basically turned Anthony over to his grandfather, Steve, without granting him legal custody.