thedrifter
05-26-07, 08:17 AM
Marine Wife Translates Courageous Acts into Words in ''Shared Courage''
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Cpl. Christiane M. Ripley
Henderson Hall News
''Shared Courage" by Michelle Keener is a touching story of a country at war, a husband on deployment, and a wife searching within herself for the courage to keep her family afloat.
Keener tells the story of the back-home warriors, the women who fought the good fight on the home front while their husbands fought the war abroad.
From the beginning, military life was not easy for Keener, and she shares her struggles to - as Marines would say - adapt and overcome. Before Keener married, she was studying to become a nun. Unlikely as marriage seemed to her at the time, she followed her heart, which led her to Paul Keener, a Marine communications officer. After their short courtship and marriage, Keener found herself in unfamiliar territory.
A stranger to the Marine Corps, Keener describes her intimidating arrival at Quantico and her adjustment to military life. But suddenly her problems with base housing and meeting the neighbors seemed obsolete: on Sept. 11, 2001, planes hit the World Trade Center and the Pentagon and marked the beginning of a long and emotional road for Paul and Michelle Keener, as well as for the rest of the country.
Then came the move to Twentynine Palms, Calif. As a member of 3rd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, 1st Lt. Keener and his wife adjusted once again to a new base, and also to a new baby, Emily.
Michelle joined the Key Volunteer Network for 3º4 in Twentynine Palms as a way to keep busy. Actually, she was ''voluntold" to join, but as she would later find, it was a great opportunity to help during the upcoming months.
One such opportunity would be the day 3º4 found out they would deploy to Iraq. Unsure of what the future held, the one-day's notice left families scrambling to gather gear and say meaningful goodbyes.
Michelle puts in plain words how the deployment affected her and the wives she befriended. Buying a lawn mower, paying the bills, raising a child - all on her own. On top of that, as a Key Volunteer she was fielding phone calls from other wives, trying to get out official information on where their husbands were and what was going on with the unit.
Michelle describes the emotional turmoil and the thoughts that nobody really wants to admit they're thinking. The days when she swore that her husband would never return, and the hope that he would come home uninjured. Every day she wondered if there would be a knock on her door from a Marine in dress blues, telling her the father of her only child was killed in action. Glued to the television and newspaper, she desperately watched for any news of her husband and his fellow Marines.
As frightening as each moment seemed, Michelle shared the ways that she kept her strength and courage throughout the deployment, how she managed to keep her head as she comforted other wives and passed on necessary information.
Then came the joyous homecoming, which would only lead to another deployment and more obstacles for the Keener family. This time Paul left for seven months, and Michelle went back to the life she knew the last time Paul was gone.
The days of care packages and worrying returned, the phone calls started again, and the friendships became stronger as wives came together to give each other strength. Sharing their courage with each other was a way to get through the deployment and keep them on their feet.
The day finally came when one of the wives got a knock on the door. It's a reality Marine families live with everyday while their loved ones are in combat, although for Michelle it never hit home until it happened to one of her friends. The wives came together and used their strength to help a grieving family. The death of a Marine could never be a statistic for them like it was on the news. It was a friend, a father and a husband, gone forever.
Keener's book outlines the hurt, the hope, and the horror war can bring to a Marine family, but it also describes the pride and strength that are so definitive of a Marine and his or her family members. It takes courage for a Marine to go to combat and fight for his country, and it takes courage for the families left at home to carry on with life and to give strength and love to those fighting so far from home.
This book is a must read, not only for Marines going to combat, but also for the families of deployed Marines. Anyone who reads the story of the Keener family and their friends will begin to understand the commitment it takes to stay strong through the hardest of times, the courage it takes to stay home while a loved one deploys, and the honor it is for every Marine family to serve.
''Shared Courage: A Marine Wife's Story of Strength and Service''; by Michelle Keener; published by Zenith Press; April 15, 2007; Hard Cover, 304 pages; ISBN-10: 0760329966
Ellie
E-Mail This Article Print This Story
Cpl. Christiane M. Ripley
Henderson Hall News
''Shared Courage" by Michelle Keener is a touching story of a country at war, a husband on deployment, and a wife searching within herself for the courage to keep her family afloat.
Keener tells the story of the back-home warriors, the women who fought the good fight on the home front while their husbands fought the war abroad.
From the beginning, military life was not easy for Keener, and she shares her struggles to - as Marines would say - adapt and overcome. Before Keener married, she was studying to become a nun. Unlikely as marriage seemed to her at the time, she followed her heart, which led her to Paul Keener, a Marine communications officer. After their short courtship and marriage, Keener found herself in unfamiliar territory.
A stranger to the Marine Corps, Keener describes her intimidating arrival at Quantico and her adjustment to military life. But suddenly her problems with base housing and meeting the neighbors seemed obsolete: on Sept. 11, 2001, planes hit the World Trade Center and the Pentagon and marked the beginning of a long and emotional road for Paul and Michelle Keener, as well as for the rest of the country.
Then came the move to Twentynine Palms, Calif. As a member of 3rd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, 1st Lt. Keener and his wife adjusted once again to a new base, and also to a new baby, Emily.
Michelle joined the Key Volunteer Network for 3º4 in Twentynine Palms as a way to keep busy. Actually, she was ''voluntold" to join, but as she would later find, it was a great opportunity to help during the upcoming months.
One such opportunity would be the day 3º4 found out they would deploy to Iraq. Unsure of what the future held, the one-day's notice left families scrambling to gather gear and say meaningful goodbyes.
Michelle puts in plain words how the deployment affected her and the wives she befriended. Buying a lawn mower, paying the bills, raising a child - all on her own. On top of that, as a Key Volunteer she was fielding phone calls from other wives, trying to get out official information on where their husbands were and what was going on with the unit.
Michelle describes the emotional turmoil and the thoughts that nobody really wants to admit they're thinking. The days when she swore that her husband would never return, and the hope that he would come home uninjured. Every day she wondered if there would be a knock on her door from a Marine in dress blues, telling her the father of her only child was killed in action. Glued to the television and newspaper, she desperately watched for any news of her husband and his fellow Marines.
As frightening as each moment seemed, Michelle shared the ways that she kept her strength and courage throughout the deployment, how she managed to keep her head as she comforted other wives and passed on necessary information.
Then came the joyous homecoming, which would only lead to another deployment and more obstacles for the Keener family. This time Paul left for seven months, and Michelle went back to the life she knew the last time Paul was gone.
The days of care packages and worrying returned, the phone calls started again, and the friendships became stronger as wives came together to give each other strength. Sharing their courage with each other was a way to get through the deployment and keep them on their feet.
The day finally came when one of the wives got a knock on the door. It's a reality Marine families live with everyday while their loved ones are in combat, although for Michelle it never hit home until it happened to one of her friends. The wives came together and used their strength to help a grieving family. The death of a Marine could never be a statistic for them like it was on the news. It was a friend, a father and a husband, gone forever.
Keener's book outlines the hurt, the hope, and the horror war can bring to a Marine family, but it also describes the pride and strength that are so definitive of a Marine and his or her family members. It takes courage for a Marine to go to combat and fight for his country, and it takes courage for the families left at home to carry on with life and to give strength and love to those fighting so far from home.
This book is a must read, not only for Marines going to combat, but also for the families of deployed Marines. Anyone who reads the story of the Keener family and their friends will begin to understand the commitment it takes to stay strong through the hardest of times, the courage it takes to stay home while a loved one deploys, and the honor it is for every Marine family to serve.
''Shared Courage: A Marine Wife's Story of Strength and Service''; by Michelle Keener; published by Zenith Press; April 15, 2007; Hard Cover, 304 pages; ISBN-10: 0760329966
Ellie