Family Man

A young military family insists on building a life together, even as thousands of miles, communication blackouts, and financial struggles keep them apart.

Photos by Jessica Glazer

Every day for two months, newlywed Michael Tekiko walked forty-five minutes along the landscaped grounds of the naval base, past the military chapel and the burger joint, to the nearest Wifi lounge to chat with his wife. He looked for her screen name on Yahoo Messenger, through which the couple would talk on and off for about ten hours—he from his base in Norfolk, Va., she from the Philippines, thirteen time zones away. Then, around two a.m., he walked back to the ship to get a few hours of sleep before work.

On that late, sleep-deprived walk, Michael often hallucinated, thinking he saw ghosts. The whole time, he ruminated about a future where he and his young wife could build a family, a life, together.