Like many people, Ellen Statia is glued to her TV as “Operation Iraqi Freedom” unfolds on every station. But she is watching for one particular, personal reason: her son, Lt. Harry Statia, Oak Harbor class of 1983, is a catapult operator on the USS Abraham Lincoln. The carrier has a large contingent of media, and any time the camera pans the deck as jets take off, she might see her son.

“I’m always on the lookout,” she said.

In fact Harry Statia recently e-mailed his family, “If you watched CNN this morning or evening . . . and saw the launches off the USS Abraham Lincoln you may have seen me. I was shooting the planes off on the first two launches.”

Statia is stationed at Naval Station Everett aboard the Lincoln, which has been deployed for nearly nine months. His wife, Melissa, and their three children live in Arlington, but much of his large family still live in Oak Harbor.

Some of Statia’s classmates may recognize him too. Statia is one of many Oak Harbor High School graduates who have joined the military, and left families waiting back at home.

Dick Devlin, Oak Harbor School principal, said it is hard to tell just how many seniors choose to join some branch of the armed forces, but every year a significant number list the military in their future plans.

“I think a lot of kids see it as a viable option for a career choice,” he said.

The high school also has a large group of Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps, young officer hopefuls.

While some young people, especially in a place like Oak Harbor with its large Navy population, may be following in their parents’ footsteps, others are following their own path.

Ellen Statia had four brothers in the Army, but of her six children, Harry is the only one who joined the service. The Oak Harbor family also has a nephew, Justin Cross, in the Army who will be leaving soon to drive a tank in Kuwait. Cross and his wife Muranda are both Oak Harbor graduates as well. They are expecting their first baby in April.

Harry Statia’s family is very close, and that gets them through these trying times. When the Lincoln was redeployed in January, without getting to come home, it was devastating for all the families back home.

“We were going to have Thanksgiving and Christmas in January,” Ellen Statia said, her voice trembling.

Sister Wendy Turner tries to stay upbeat. “We still have two turkeys in the freezer waiting for when he comes home,” she said. “Now we’ll have to get a ham.” By the time the Lincoln comes home, Harry Statia’s birthday and Easter will have passed.

The Statia family expects there will be more than 30 family members gathered for Harry’s homecoming.

Three brothers join the service

The Kumm (pronounced Koom) brothers are Oak Harbor grads who are following in their parents’ footsteps. Dad John was in the Navy for 20 years, and mom Patty was in the Navy as well, until they started a family.

Mike Kumm, class of ‘98, is an AT with VQ-1 at Whidbey. He just returned from patrol and reconnaissance in Bahrain. Joe Kumm, class of ‘00, is with VAQ-137. He is not yet deployed. Little brother Jeremy Kumm, class of ‘02 chose to join the Army, and is on the frontline in Kuwait.

Mike Kumm said the family is handling having three brothers in harm’s way, but they worry most about Jeremy.

“The hardest thing is having our little brother out there — with where he is and what’s going on,” Kumm said.

In a town like Oak Harbor, where military life is a way of life, Ellen Statia wonders if kids know what they’re getting into when they join up after graduation.

“A lot of them join up to get an education or thinking it’s just a job,” she said. “They probably don’t think they will be going to war.”