thedrifter
01-30-07, 01:08 PM
West Canada and Dolgeville natives interviewed by Oliver North
By DANA C. SILANO Evening Times Staff Writer (Tues., Jan. 30)
Published: Tuesday, January 30, 2007 9:25 AM CST
LITTLE FALLS — Rachael Allen has not seen her husband since August, when he was deployed with his Marine troops to Ramadi, Iraq.
To make matters more unsettling, his stay in Iraq was extended and his return is not anticipated until the end of May.
Rachael (Foster) is a Dolgeville native and Dolgeville Central School graduate of 1992. Her husband, Gunnery Sgt. Kenneth Allen, is a West Canada Valley Central School 1991 graduate, and now a Marine serving in the Middle East, having begun his military training in 1992.
The Allens did quite a bit of traveling before settling in their current home in Jackson, N.C., back in 2002.
Married 12 years in May, the couple was wed in Salisbury in 1995.
“We moved to North Carolina in 1995, then to Paris Island in 1997, Hawaii in 1999 and then we went back to North Carolina,” Rachael said.
In December, while Rachael and their two daughters, Amanda, 11, and Melissa, 9, were home preparing for the holidays and missing Kenneth, Lt. Col. Oliver North, a former Marine of 22 years who has been decorated with a Silver Star, the Bronze Star of Valor and two Purple Hearts, visited troops in Iraq. While North was embedded with Kenneth’s unit in Ramadi, he interviewed a few of them for his television series, “War Stories with Colonel North.” North, who is a Fox News correspondent, put Kenneth in a three-minute live spot segment on Fox News that month.
The coverage did not stop there, though.
“Col. North’s crew came to our house and interviewed our daughters and I,” Rachael said. “I get nervous, now, thinking about it because [in the blur] I don’t remember quite what I said,” she said laughing. “Last week, we did a bigger group interview at the colonel’s [Allen’s company commander] house with the other families that North’s crew interviewed. North and his wife sat down to interview us personally.”
“Despite having spent most of my life in and with the armed forces and their families, it was personally moving to hear these young wives and mothers describe with grace and dignity — devoid of resentment — how they were dealing with the news of their husbands’ delayed return,” North said in a column he writes regularly.
North also interviewed wounded soldiers sent back home to recover at the Naval Hospital base.
“Equally compelling were the comments of the Marines themselves. None of them expressed anger or frustration with President Bush or their leaders. Several noted that they had volunteered to go back to Iraq — some for a third trip to the war. Two of the wounded warriors boldly stated that despite their injuries, they were looking forward to getting back to ‘finish the fight,’” North reported.
The segment will air this Sunday on Fox News at 8 p.m. It will air again later that evening.
“We’re really glad the special was made,” Rachael said. “A lot of its focus is on the progress that’s been made in places like Ramadi. That kind of coverage tends to get dropped in the media.”
Rachael’s motherly instinct kicked in, in reference to having her husband and children on the show.
“I’m very proud to have Kenneth and our children on the show,” she said. “I’m happy that Fox New is acknowledging the sacrifices our military makes, and the sacrifices their families make, too. No one really thinks about that.”
Rachael currently works at the Naval Hospital at Camp Lejuene as a physical therapy assistant and has treated many of Kenneth’s fellow wounded Marines. Camp Lejeune is the home base for the 1st Battalion, 6th Marines, the unit that FOX News’ “War Stories” team was embedded with throughout most of December.
“As the wife of a soldier, it’s been pretty difficult,” she said in reflection thus far. “But that’s who he is and I love him for that. My daughters and I are so proud of him, and so is all of our family back in New York. Everyone’s just very proud of him. You try to focus on the day-to-day activities that keep you occupied. I keep in the back of my mind that he’ll be home soon, not that he’s gone today.”
Ellie
By DANA C. SILANO Evening Times Staff Writer (Tues., Jan. 30)
Published: Tuesday, January 30, 2007 9:25 AM CST
LITTLE FALLS — Rachael Allen has not seen her husband since August, when he was deployed with his Marine troops to Ramadi, Iraq.
To make matters more unsettling, his stay in Iraq was extended and his return is not anticipated until the end of May.
Rachael (Foster) is a Dolgeville native and Dolgeville Central School graduate of 1992. Her husband, Gunnery Sgt. Kenneth Allen, is a West Canada Valley Central School 1991 graduate, and now a Marine serving in the Middle East, having begun his military training in 1992.
The Allens did quite a bit of traveling before settling in their current home in Jackson, N.C., back in 2002.
Married 12 years in May, the couple was wed in Salisbury in 1995.
“We moved to North Carolina in 1995, then to Paris Island in 1997, Hawaii in 1999 and then we went back to North Carolina,” Rachael said.
In December, while Rachael and their two daughters, Amanda, 11, and Melissa, 9, were home preparing for the holidays and missing Kenneth, Lt. Col. Oliver North, a former Marine of 22 years who has been decorated with a Silver Star, the Bronze Star of Valor and two Purple Hearts, visited troops in Iraq. While North was embedded with Kenneth’s unit in Ramadi, he interviewed a few of them for his television series, “War Stories with Colonel North.” North, who is a Fox News correspondent, put Kenneth in a three-minute live spot segment on Fox News that month.
The coverage did not stop there, though.
“Col. North’s crew came to our house and interviewed our daughters and I,” Rachael said. “I get nervous, now, thinking about it because [in the blur] I don’t remember quite what I said,” she said laughing. “Last week, we did a bigger group interview at the colonel’s [Allen’s company commander] house with the other families that North’s crew interviewed. North and his wife sat down to interview us personally.”
“Despite having spent most of my life in and with the armed forces and their families, it was personally moving to hear these young wives and mothers describe with grace and dignity — devoid of resentment — how they were dealing with the news of their husbands’ delayed return,” North said in a column he writes regularly.
North also interviewed wounded soldiers sent back home to recover at the Naval Hospital base.
“Equally compelling were the comments of the Marines themselves. None of them expressed anger or frustration with President Bush or their leaders. Several noted that they had volunteered to go back to Iraq — some for a third trip to the war. Two of the wounded warriors boldly stated that despite their injuries, they were looking forward to getting back to ‘finish the fight,’” North reported.
The segment will air this Sunday on Fox News at 8 p.m. It will air again later that evening.
“We’re really glad the special was made,” Rachael said. “A lot of its focus is on the progress that’s been made in places like Ramadi. That kind of coverage tends to get dropped in the media.”
Rachael’s motherly instinct kicked in, in reference to having her husband and children on the show.
“I’m very proud to have Kenneth and our children on the show,” she said. “I’m happy that Fox New is acknowledging the sacrifices our military makes, and the sacrifices their families make, too. No one really thinks about that.”
Rachael currently works at the Naval Hospital at Camp Lejuene as a physical therapy assistant and has treated many of Kenneth’s fellow wounded Marines. Camp Lejeune is the home base for the 1st Battalion, 6th Marines, the unit that FOX News’ “War Stories” team was embedded with throughout most of December.
“As the wife of a soldier, it’s been pretty difficult,” she said in reflection thus far. “But that’s who he is and I love him for that. My daughters and I are so proud of him, and so is all of our family back in New York. Everyone’s just very proud of him. You try to focus on the day-to-day activities that keep you occupied. I keep in the back of my mind that he’ll be home soon, not that he’s gone today.”
Ellie