Between Iraq and a hard place
Military moms forced to choose
Greetings to former POW Shoshana Johnson, soon to be a former soldier as well. Someone who's looking up her name using Google or other search engines visits The Dagley Dagley Daily almost every day, because we mentioned her a couple of times while she was held captive in Iraq, and once again when she was discharged with only a 30 percent disability despite being shot in both feet and otherwise injured at the hands of her captors. Spc. Johnson, we salute you and will continue to remind our readers of your service and sacrifice for your country.
When her unit was ordered to join the U.S. forces invading Iraq, Spc. Johnson, a single parent, had to leave behind her two-year-old daughter in order to comply with those orders. Fortunately other family members took care of the child in her absence, and fortunately she survived the ordeal and returned home.
Once upon a time, the term "military moms" referred to mothers of people in the military, not moms who are themselves in the armed forces. But these days with more and more mothers joining the reserves, and more and more reserves being called up, parents are forced to make a difficult choice: obey the law and go, or stay at home and risk the consequences. Army Reserve Medic Simone Holcomb has been given an even harder choice: obey the law and go to Iraq as she has been ordered -- her husband, a career military man, is already there; or obey the law and stay with her children (seven in all) as a court has ordered. Two of the children are from her husband's previous marriage, and their mother has sued for custody. If Holcomb doesn't stay, the couple will lose custody.
What would you do?
UPDATE: Spc. Johnson and former Private Jessica Lynch have been included on Glamour Magazine's list of Women of the Year.
posted by Janet Dagley Dagley @5:12 PM
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10.11.03 |
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