LUKE Caruso first told his mother Maria that he was going to join the army when
he was 14 years old.
“He was always interested in battles and fighting games
but I thought we could change his mind at 17,” Ms Caruso said.
Luke stuck to
his word however, and asked his mum to come and help him sign up to the
Australian Defence Force as soon as he turned 17.
He left Swan Hill for
training at the Kapooka army barracks a month before his 18th birthday.
That
was four and a half years ago, and at 22 years of age Private Luke James Caruso
is now an experienced machine gunner and combat first aider based at Ennogera in
Brisbane, with hopes to transfer to the Parchute Riggers.
He spent three
months on tour in East Timor in 2010 and returned from Afghanistan in June last
year after six months on the field.
Ms Caruso says it’s hard for her to keep
from worrying when he is away, even for training purposes, but regular contact
through Skype and Facebook helps.
“When he was in Afghanistan I’d go to bed
and think, he would be awake fighting right now, and pray for no news when I
woke up, because no news is good news,” she said.
For more of this story, see Wednesday’s Guardian (April 24).
