Airman Arrives Just in Time for Baby's Birth

Staff Sgt. Patrick Nunes' wife was already in labor when he arrived at Bradley Airport Wednesday.

It was a close call Wednesday for Staff Sgt. Patrick Nunes, who had just returned from his second tour in Iraq.

No, this close call had nothing to do with being on a battlefield. Nunes, who serves in the Air Force, was given approval to leave Iraq two weeks ahead of his Dec. 31 the date he was expected to withdraw from overseas, because that was also his wife's due date.

So, when Nunes boarded a plane bound for Connecticut Wednesday, he thought he would have plenty of time before his wife gave birth to their first child. He was wrong.

When he stepped off the flight at Bradley Airport, his wife, Katie, was already in labor. He rushed to Hartford Hospital where Katie gave birth to a 9-pound baby boy just hours later.

"I just kept saying 'He's going to make it,'" Katie Nunes said Friday. Katie, who grew up in Suffield, was staying with her parents while her husband was in Iraq. The two live in Utah.

"It did not seem real," Patrick Nunes said. "It was just crazy timing."

The couple named their son Ryan. Mom, baby and Dad are all doing well.

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