So much of war, it seems, is deafeningly loud &045; artillery blasts, the shouts of protesters, the barrage of news, the din of dozens of families saying goodbye to those they send overseas. But Frankie Battiste is more worried about the silence.

Her 13-year-old son, Antoine, won’t talk about how he feels about his father, Freddie Battiste Sr., being stationed in stationed in Kuwait, so close to the fighting.

&uot;I keep telling him he needs to get his feelings out,&uot; Frankie Battiste said. &uot;But he just won’t. In a way, it’s like he’s become a grownup all of a sudden. And in a way, he’s still a kid.&uot;

&uot;I’m good,&uot; Antoine Battiste said, turning away from watching rap videos for just a few seconds. With a shrug, he added, &uot;I don’t worry about nothing.&uot;

Frankie Battiste knows better.

One of Antoine Battiste’s teachers has said he doesn’t hang around his best friend as much any more, is withdrawn and requests to go to the school library to watch the news.

His grades, his mother said, have dropped, his asthma is worse, and he’s lost weight since February &045; when his father was deployed.

The war has also caused changes in her oldest son, 21-year-old Freddie Battiste Jr., who has moved back home from North Carolina to transfer to Alcorn State University.

Freddie Battiste Jr. admitted he feels has to take on the role of father to Antoine now that their father is away.

Although they are divorced, Frankie Battiste explained, Freddie Battiste Jr. supports and spends plenty of time with his sons, taking Freddie Jr. on Wal-Mart trips and outdoor outings.

When he gets back, Antoine Battiste explained with a slight smile, his father has said he’ll take him fishing.

It’s a strange role for Freddie Battiste Jr., who was himself just a boy when his father was deployed in the first Gulf War.

&uot;Yeah, I remember how I felt &045; wanting him to come back safe, Š not understanding what his purpose was in going over there,&uot; Freddie Jr. said.

And now? &uot;I know he’s doing what he feels is right in going over there,&uot; Freddie Battiste Jr. said.

Turning back to the television, he admitted he watches the news quite a lot.

&uot;It’s like a show&uot; to news broadcasters, he said, turning to look visitors in the eye. &uot;Well, that’s fine and dandy, but the truth is, he might not come back.&uot;

The death, in combat, of Natchez native Henry Brown on Monday has brought that fact home to her family, Frankie said.

But there is hope.

Freddie talks to other friends with fathers who were deployed as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom. The whole family attends a family support group once a month in Vicksburg, along with other families of the 387th Battalion soldiers.

&uot;They’ve got a chaplain there that they (Freddie Jr. and Antoine) can talk to, which is good for them,&uot; Frankie Battiste said. &uot;And they mix with the other kids whose fathers are over there.&uot;

Linda McClure of Vidalia can sympathize with Frankie’s plight since, during the Gulf War, she had four children, all in the first through fifth grades. Although he children exhibited no major behavioral problems, she said war does not leave children unaffected.

&uot;In a way, it doesn’t matter if that child is 10 or 20 &045; that still their daddy,&uot; said McClure, wife of LTC Jeff McClure, who is now overseas as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Linda McClure admitted that being on a military base &045; Fort Polk, La. &045; during the first war helped her family, since support groups and family activities were always available.

But there are way parents with spouses overseas can help their children deal with fears about the other parent’s safety, she said.

One thing parents can do for their children is limit their exposure to news of the war &045; something she said has become even more invasive since the first Gulf War.

&uot;Now it’s on 24 hours a day, and they’re also seeing it at school,&uot; Linda McClure said.

Another is just to communicate with them honestly.

&uot;If they asked me if I was scared, I would say, ‘Yes, I am. But I know daddy’s not going to do anything to put himself in harm’s way,&uot; Linda McClure said.

And if parents notice any anxiety in their children, she encourages them to deal with it right away.

Teachers can also help their students, children of military parents included, be providing them with a time each day to express their feelings and ask questions.

Linda, who teaches in Jonesville, La., has an open forum for her eighth grade and high school students each day.

Finally, the community can help by offering to do specific things for parents who are left to deal with children by themselves, Linda McClure said.

That gives those parents stress relief they need to be better prepared to deal with their children’s problems.

And local residents might consider becoming mentors to children whose fathers or mothers are overseas, Frankie Battiste said.

&uot;A lot of times, people focus on the (soldier’s) spouse and mother and forget about the little kids,&uot; she said.