Marissa Shadler kisses boyfriend Cory Dutkiewicz goodby as he prepares to deploy on The USS New York, an amphibious transport dock ship, from Naval Station Norfolk in Norfolk, Va. on Tuesday. This is the first deployment of the ship, parts of which were built with steel from the World Trade Center. The New York is part of the Iwo Jima Amphibious Ready Group and will operate in the Mediterranean Sea and Arabian Gulf. (AP Photo/The Virginian-Pilot, Steve Earley)

Question: Did you ever have to leave your sweetheart or family for a year or more? What was that like?