Since he was deployed to Laghman Province, Afghanistan, with his U.S. Army National Guard unit in November, Sgt. Joseph A. Brown has had to follow his wife Tara's pregnancy and the delivery of their son -- their first child -- by text messaging and cellular phone.

But, thanks to the American Red Cross, Southwestern Pennsylvania Chapter, Sgt. Brown, 39, received an emergency leave that got him home to Port Vue on Tuesday, three days after the birth of 7-pound, 19-inch-long Marques Joseph.

"He's wonderful, absolutely gorgeous, healthy, happy," Tara Brown, 28, said of the baby. "I couldn't ask for more. My husband's home with us. Everything's wonderful."

The family reunion will last until Saturday, when Sgt. Brown, a lead medic with a scout and sniper platoon, has to return to Afghanistan for 90 more days "in country."

"The armed forces will not let them come home without the Red Cross stamp of approval," said Frank Nemeth, of South Bend Township, Armstrong County, the volunteer who was the go-between for the Browns and the military.

His work involved verifying Mrs. Brown's stay in West Penn Hospital and her delivery with the doctor. After that, Mr. Nemeth called the Armed Forces emergency service number and provided Sgt. Brown's rank, Social Security number, phone number, country code and other details needed before the leave could be approved.

"I left where I was stationed on the 10th, but I didn't leave the country until the 11th and then I got home on the 12th," Sgt. Brown said. "I had to catch a couple planes and helicopters."

By that time, Sgt. Brown had gotten a voice mail message from his wife's sister telling him that Marques had been born and everything was fine. He would have gotten the call a day earlier but his platoon had gone into a blackout.

"Communications were stopped because an incident was happening," he said, adding he was not permitted to say any more.

High-tech communications played a big role in Mrs. Brown's pregnancy.

"When he left for deployment, I didn't know I was pregnant," she said. "He found out through text message that I was pregnant. I tried calling him when I took the test but couldn't reach him. I took a picture of the pregnancy test and texted it to him.

"He called me back and kept saying, 'Wow! Wow!' He was pretty excited. We've been trying for years to get pregnant and were scared it wasn't possible for us.

"It wasn't the timing we expected, but it definitely was the blessing we wanted."

Similarly, Sgt. Brown said, "We were on the phone when her water broke. She said she felt something running down her leg. I said, 'Call the doctor. We'll figure it out later.' "

Soon after, his platoon went into the blackout.

"She had left a couple messages that she was in the hospital, in labor. Then her sister called after and said the baby boy was fine," he said.

Sgt. Brown has been in the military most of his adult life. He was in the Navy from 1987 until a year and a half ago, when he got injured on his last tour. After returning home, he joined the National Guard.

"When I get back [from Afghanistan] I plan on joining the McKeesport police force," he said.

Mrs. Brown, a longtime server at the Eat'n Park in Whitehall, wants to return to school to become an X-ray technician.