INTERVIEW WITH AMY

Amy: My father was in WWII. He enlisted when he was seventeen, in 1940, and then was sent to OCS in 1941 after Pearl Harbor. When he left for North Africa in 1942, he was a second lieutenant and a captain when he came back in 1945. He stayed in the reserves (Army) until the 1960s, when he retired as a lieutenant colonel.

My husband Terry's uncle, Jim Huston, was a B-24 pilot in WWII, and was lost while flying a mission over Ploesti in 1943. Our son, Jim, is named after him. Neither Terry nor I knew Uncle Jim because we're both post-war babies. I don't know if this influenced our son Jim or not.

Neither Terry nor I have ever been a pacifist in the strict sense of the word. We both protested the U.S. involvement in Vietnam when were in college, and we've both opposed the war in Iraq since its inception. However, we both are proud of our respective family histories in WWII.

Jim graduated from college�niversity of North Carolina at Charlotte�n December of 2001. 9/11 had a huge effect on him, and I think that influenced his decision. I'd always told him that a military career was an honorable life, and he shouldn't discount it after graduation, but I'd never talked it up. However, I was thinking more along the lines of Air Force or Navy and was quite stunned when he came home and told me he'd enlisted in the army, with the intention of joining the 82nd Airborne! But with Jim, nothing is ever halfway.

His college degree is in Social Work, and I think he has a well-developed sense of fair play and feels that the defense of the country shouldn't be the sole responsibility of those who can't afford college or find jobs elsewhere.  

I think his time in Afghanistan made him more aware of the costs of war in terms of both economics and human life. Early on, while he was guarding in Bagram, he witnessed an American soldier lose a leg from stepping on a landmine. Steven Checo was also killed soon after Jim arrived there. 

He saw real poverty there for the first time and had empathy for the Afghanis. He talked about leaving them MRE's and barrels of clean drinking water. However, I think he believes that the hunt for Al Qaida was, and is worthwhile.

Since the very beginning, as I said, were opposed to the invasion of Iraq. At first, Jim was reluctant to say much about it, but as time went on, after the invasion and after not finding any WMD, he started to be more upfront about his doubts that the war is necessary. Before he left, he said war was increasingly unpopular among the foot soldiers, and that hardly anyone he knew was ready to re-enlist. Terry and I, of course, respected that he had to follow orders and go.  

Terry and I have both had our share of sleepless nights, particularly after hearing of casualties on the news, but unable to get word until notification of next-of-kin has been done--I'm sure you know the feeling. I guess we cope because we have no choice. 

I figure the soldiers who are there feel better knowing that the people back home are "holding down the fort" rather than falling apart at the seams. I think it boosts Jim's morale when I tell him that we're all OK and that we'll be here for him when he gets back. He married a beautiful young woman, also named Amy, just before he left. He called on December 23 and said "I'm getting married on the 26th". It was an eventful Christmas. At any rate, Amy's here in Charlotte, and we all try to cheer each other on. 

I pray for the soldiers and their families. I'm not conventionally religious, but I take solace in prayer. I don't think that "if I just pray hard enough, they'll all come back safely", but I think prayer helps me connect to a calming center. I figure whatever happens is out of my hands, and so I  try to take it one day at a time. Besides, I've always worried about my kids (I have a younger son also), and lying awake at night is not a new experience--I worried about them driving across town to school in the horrendous Charlotte traffic. So, again, one day at a time.

I do admit that last week, when the first soldier from Charlotte was killed, Spc. Chris Hill, I had a couple of days when I felt really sad and more anxious than usual. Also, finding groups such as Military Families Speak Out (MSFO) and Veterans for Peace is a big help. It almost feels as if I have this huge extended family sending me positive energy.  

I want to clarify that I am not in any way anti-military. I feel that the armed forces, and most of the men and women who are serving, are good and honorable people, and that a strong defense is still, unfortunately, a necessary reality in today's world. However, I feel that the invasion of Iraq was, and still is, a mistake, and that George Bush and his administration lied to the people of this country about the need for war. I feel he owes the American people, most especially the people in uniform, a huge apology for this blunder.