thedrifter
02-17-08, 08:50 AM
Family heeds call of country once again
War opposition inspires second wave of service for Seymour veterans.
Wes Johnson
News-Leader
Sarah McCall used e-mail and MySpace to keep in touch with her brother during his two tours with a Marine combat platoon in Iraq.
Soon, she may have to do the same with her mom.
And maybe her dad, too.
All three could conceivably end up in Iraq at the same time.
McCall's brother, Josh, recently signed up for another four years. Her mother, Valarie Fletcher of Seymour, 42, a former Marine, joined the Missouri Army National Guard last year.
Trained as a combat medic, she'll likely ship out to Iraq within a few months.
"I wasn't surprised when my mom told me she was going to join again," said McCall, 21, who lives in North Carolina. "She is my mother, but she is a grown woman who makes her own decisions. I love her and support her."
Her father, a 15-year Navy veteran, is considering signing with the Navy Reserves and joining the Seabees as a heavy-equipment operator.
"Absolutely I worry about them, but worrying isn't going to keep them any safer," McCall said.
Opposition
That Valarie Fletcher is willing to serve in the military might strike some as odd.
In August 2005, Valarie camped out in front of President George Bush's ranch in Crawford, Texas, making a very public statement against the war in Iraq.
She drove there from her home in Seymour to support anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan, whose son was killed in Iraq.
Fletcher worried about the fate of her own son, who had just joined the Marines and would soon be on his way to front-line combat.
She understood her son's decision to serve and supports the men and women of the military. So much so, she re-enlisted.
"My decision to join is not so much about the feelings I have against the war," Fletcher said. "It's that I'm acutely aware our military is getting worn down. Four years into the war, they need people over there."
Now, more than two years after her trip to Crawford, Fletcher has completed combat medic training at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio. She will soon be on her way to Iraq.
Once there, she'll be helping severely injured soldiers.
"I chose to be a medic because I have no internal conflict with that," she said. "It will be nice to feel like you're helping those that need it the most."
She learned how to handle serious penetrating injuries — the kind soldiers suffer from roadside bombs and machine-gun battles.
"We saw a lot of photos of actual injuries during our training," she said. "They put you in real high-stress situations where they make you perform. When you get out there, you just have to do it."
Her husband, Alan, a former Navy airplane mechanic who served on the aircraft carrier John F. Kennedy, supports her decision.
In fact, that he has taken the first steps to possibly join the Navy Reserves.
Now a long-haul trucker, Alan said he also strongly opposes the war but respects those who are called to fight it.
"I think it's wrong that we're in there," he said during a phone call from his truck in Pennsylvania. "If Bush was any kind of man, he'd stand up and say we were wrong to go in there under false pretenses."
A tradition of service
Despite Alan and Valarie Fletcher's opposition to the war, military duty runs deep in their household.
Valarie's father, a Marine pilot, was shot down and killed in Vietnam.
She joined the Marines right out of high school, serving as a computer operator.
Many years later, she now runs the Fordland Martial Arts Center, teaching the art of self-defense to the young and old.
She's satisfied that friends and clients will help keep her business afloat while she's away serving her country.
Alan's father served aboard a Navy minesweeper ship during World War II.
Several other relatives also chose military careers.
Although honor and duty are part of his equation, Alan said he can't ignore the benefits of military service either.
"I've got 15 years' time in the service," he said.
"If I serve five more years with the reserves, I can retire at 62 with a military pension."
If he does join the Navy Reserve, Alan knows it's likely he would be sent to Iraq.
"I haven't decided yet," he said. "I'm still considering it."
Transformation
Technology unavailable in previous wars made it easier for Josh Fletcher to stay in touch with his parents and sister.
"E-mail is great," Valarie said. "When he was in Iraq, every couple of days he'd e-mail us and let us know he was OK. Of course he wouldn't have told me if he was in danger, even though we knew what the situation was."
In November, Josh returned from his second tour in Iraq. His sister, who is a year younger, was there to greet him at Camp LeJeune, N.C.
McCall remembers him as a skinny, academic-oriented guy in high school who was more interested in chess than sports.
That changed when he joined the Marines.
"He's filled out now and is very athletic," she said. "The Marines will do that to you. He's a lot tougher — emotionally and mentally stronger — not arrogance, but confidence."
McCall said her brother rarely talks about what he has seen, but she knows his job puts him close to danger.
"I know he's one of the soldiers who does foot patrols and armored patrols," she said.
"I don't try to pry things out of him. I'll wait for him to volunteer things when he's ready to talk about them. Even killing somebody in war has got to be hard."
Now in military sniper training school on the East Coast, Josh Fletcher no doubt will be returning to Iraq, his mother said.
She and her husband may not be far behind.
Ellie
War opposition inspires second wave of service for Seymour veterans.
Wes Johnson
News-Leader
Sarah McCall used e-mail and MySpace to keep in touch with her brother during his two tours with a Marine combat platoon in Iraq.
Soon, she may have to do the same with her mom.
And maybe her dad, too.
All three could conceivably end up in Iraq at the same time.
McCall's brother, Josh, recently signed up for another four years. Her mother, Valarie Fletcher of Seymour, 42, a former Marine, joined the Missouri Army National Guard last year.
Trained as a combat medic, she'll likely ship out to Iraq within a few months.
"I wasn't surprised when my mom told me she was going to join again," said McCall, 21, who lives in North Carolina. "She is my mother, but she is a grown woman who makes her own decisions. I love her and support her."
Her father, a 15-year Navy veteran, is considering signing with the Navy Reserves and joining the Seabees as a heavy-equipment operator.
"Absolutely I worry about them, but worrying isn't going to keep them any safer," McCall said.
Opposition
That Valarie Fletcher is willing to serve in the military might strike some as odd.
In August 2005, Valarie camped out in front of President George Bush's ranch in Crawford, Texas, making a very public statement against the war in Iraq.
She drove there from her home in Seymour to support anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan, whose son was killed in Iraq.
Fletcher worried about the fate of her own son, who had just joined the Marines and would soon be on his way to front-line combat.
She understood her son's decision to serve and supports the men and women of the military. So much so, she re-enlisted.
"My decision to join is not so much about the feelings I have against the war," Fletcher said. "It's that I'm acutely aware our military is getting worn down. Four years into the war, they need people over there."
Now, more than two years after her trip to Crawford, Fletcher has completed combat medic training at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio. She will soon be on her way to Iraq.
Once there, she'll be helping severely injured soldiers.
"I chose to be a medic because I have no internal conflict with that," she said. "It will be nice to feel like you're helping those that need it the most."
She learned how to handle serious penetrating injuries — the kind soldiers suffer from roadside bombs and machine-gun battles.
"We saw a lot of photos of actual injuries during our training," she said. "They put you in real high-stress situations where they make you perform. When you get out there, you just have to do it."
Her husband, Alan, a former Navy airplane mechanic who served on the aircraft carrier John F. Kennedy, supports her decision.
In fact, that he has taken the first steps to possibly join the Navy Reserves.
Now a long-haul trucker, Alan said he also strongly opposes the war but respects those who are called to fight it.
"I think it's wrong that we're in there," he said during a phone call from his truck in Pennsylvania. "If Bush was any kind of man, he'd stand up and say we were wrong to go in there under false pretenses."
A tradition of service
Despite Alan and Valarie Fletcher's opposition to the war, military duty runs deep in their household.
Valarie's father, a Marine pilot, was shot down and killed in Vietnam.
She joined the Marines right out of high school, serving as a computer operator.
Many years later, she now runs the Fordland Martial Arts Center, teaching the art of self-defense to the young and old.
She's satisfied that friends and clients will help keep her business afloat while she's away serving her country.
Alan's father served aboard a Navy minesweeper ship during World War II.
Several other relatives also chose military careers.
Although honor and duty are part of his equation, Alan said he can't ignore the benefits of military service either.
"I've got 15 years' time in the service," he said.
"If I serve five more years with the reserves, I can retire at 62 with a military pension."
If he does join the Navy Reserve, Alan knows it's likely he would be sent to Iraq.
"I haven't decided yet," he said. "I'm still considering it."
Transformation
Technology unavailable in previous wars made it easier for Josh Fletcher to stay in touch with his parents and sister.
"E-mail is great," Valarie said. "When he was in Iraq, every couple of days he'd e-mail us and let us know he was OK. Of course he wouldn't have told me if he was in danger, even though we knew what the situation was."
In November, Josh returned from his second tour in Iraq. His sister, who is a year younger, was there to greet him at Camp LeJeune, N.C.
McCall remembers him as a skinny, academic-oriented guy in high school who was more interested in chess than sports.
That changed when he joined the Marines.
"He's filled out now and is very athletic," she said. "The Marines will do that to you. He's a lot tougher — emotionally and mentally stronger — not arrogance, but confidence."
McCall said her brother rarely talks about what he has seen, but she knows his job puts him close to danger.
"I know he's one of the soldiers who does foot patrols and armored patrols," she said.
"I don't try to pry things out of him. I'll wait for him to volunteer things when he's ready to talk about them. Even killing somebody in war has got to be hard."
Now in military sniper training school on the East Coast, Josh Fletcher no doubt will be returning to Iraq, his mother said.
She and her husband may not be far behind.
Ellie