SAN ANTONIO — The video struck fear in the heart of Tricia Fay and her husband. It was the sound of missiles striking one of two bases in Iraq. Her stepson is there working as a federally contracted linguist with the military.
"He said, 'Dad I'm safe. Don't worry about me,'" she said. "'I'm strong. We're all in the bunkers right now.'"
For security reasons, the 28-year-old man's identity is not being released. His stepmother said he was a former Bexar County Detention Officer and a graduate of John Marshall High School.
"I'm worried that he comes home safe and alive," she said.
He is not permitted to go into detail about his duties or provide depth on his whereabouts. But he is allowed to check-in with his family. In fact, Fay said she knew about the Iranian attack before it broke in the media.
Iran fired back Tuesday at the United States for an airstrike that killed General Qassem Solemani. The ruckus over revenge became a reality when missiles struck military bases. No one was injured.
"I wish the United States did not kill him," Dr. Najah Al-Shalchi said. "I wish really they would capture him and brought him to justice. Because now all of the evidence of killing is gone with him."
Like the United States, Al-Shalchi said Solemani is a terrorist whose hands run deep in the blood of countless deaths. But the Iraqui native said that's not something Iranians, generally speaking, will say.
"Iran does not want to acknowledge that because he is their man to subdue nations outside of Iran."
A physician since 1985 his list of Iranian ills is nearly endless. His prescription to calming the conflict is cooler heads seeking peace. At least, signs of calmer rhetoric came from President Trump as he talked about ramping up sanctions.
"I don't think they imagine how difficult it is for families to lose their sons or their brothers or their sisters," Al-Shalchi said. "To have someone being killed in their family for no reason."
He isn't sure the current quiet state will last, which is what has Fay on edge about her stepson.
"This is a strong young man who will die for his country," she said. " And that's what he's doing out there."