By Josh Edwards
The Paris News

Like all expecting fathers, Holland Harper wanted nothing more than to witness the birth of his second child.

Harper made all the necessary preparations and even left an important meeting early so he could make it in time to see his new daughter come into this world. In the delivery room, he could be heard soothing his wife, Kelly, and speaking encouraging, excited words.

Witnessing his daughter's first breaths, Holland said it was "almost as good as the first time," when his son Preston was born.

But unlike most new fathers, Holland witnessed the birth of his daughter, Elizabeth Anne, Monday, Nov. 27, via Web cam from the dusty desert of Iraq, where he is a captain in the U.S. Army Reserve.

"It made it feel like he was here - not physically, but emotionally," said Kelly, a pediatric nurse practitioner.

The couple had chatted by Web cam several times before the birth and wondered if Paris Regional Medical Center would be able to provide them with a wireless Internet connection so Holland could see the birth of his daughter despite being half way around the globe. Luckily, the Army Reserve captain moved to a base with a high-speed Internet and good bandwidth shortly before the birth.

"As we got closer, we found out it could happen and military obligations would not be compromised," Kelly said shortly after her 8-pound, 15-ounce daughter was born.

Shortly before the birth, Holland was in an important military planning meeting but left early to see the birth of his child. A fellow soldier, who has a reliable Internet connection, let him use his quarters to view the birth. 

Another soldier, who had experience with Lamaze, joked with him before the birth, pretending to coach him through the process.

Family members said they were all impressed by how technology was able to keep the couple close even while Holland was working to help rebuild Iraq.

Kelly's grandmother and grandfather were married seven days before he shipped out for World War II, and she was lucky to talk to him once a week. But Kelly and Holland, who have been married about three-and-a-half years, have talked on average five times a week since he was deployed to Iraq.

"It's amazing what we can do these days," Kelly said.

Chip Harper, Holland's father, said the hospital providing Web cam service proved "that the world is flat right here in Paris, Texas."

This is the first time the hospital has provided a Web cam service for an absentee father, PRMC spokesman George Kimbrough said. "We're very pleased to be able to do this," he said.

Holland thanked hospital officials for helping him see the birth of his child.

"Without their compassion and flexibility, I could not have been there with my wife in real time, talking to her and watching the birth of Elizabeth Anne Harper," he said.

The family hopes Holland can make it home on leave during the Christmas season.

"We are hoping he will be home for two weeks leave though the holidays," Kelly said.

"All I really want is to be home for Christmas," the soldier said.

Holland is attached to the 420th Engineering Brigade based in Bryan. He is currently assigned to help rebuild Baghdad.