INTERVIEW WITH DONNA WILLIAMSON
Donna Williamson's son, Zac, is a computer calibration specialist with the 95th Maintenance Company. He enlisted in 1999 when he was 19 years old and is now 23.
Donna: Zac's father was a Marine in Vietnam and Zac enlisted in the military because he felt he needed to get more serious about life. He's smart but goofed off a lot in high school. When he graduated he didn't feel ready for college and he didn't know what he wanted to study so he did what many of his friends were doing and took a job. In Zac's case he worked at the local chocolate chip factory. Then, when he discovered he had a baby on the way, he realized he needed to make more money. He enlisted for training in computer calibration. That was before 9/11.
When the first plane hit the first of the Trade Center towers I thought it was a horrible accident. When the second plane hit I knew what it meant and that something might happen to Zac.
In January 2003 he received mail from the military stating he was �n notice to be deployed.�But the deployment seemed to be really drawn out. That was okay with Zac as his daughter needed him at home and he is a dedicated father. But, once deployment happened, it happened very suddenly and he left almost the next day.
At first, I had a hard time leaving my house as I was worried I would miss Zac� phone calls. I lived with very intense feelings of his imminent danger. At the same time, I was afraid to turn on the radio out of fear of hearing of further deaths. I never turn on the television if I can help it as I hate to see Bush� face. I don� like to hear his voice on the radio either but I cope with the radio better than I cope with TV news. Then again I quickly realized that even if Zac hadn� been wounded or killed some other family� child had been.
I had no idea where Zac was in Iraq although I knew that his job with a maintenance company meant he probably wasn� facing combat. Nevertheless, I spent weeks feeling as if I had fallen from a great height and I never knew where or when I� land.
Zac arrived in a camp near the town of Balad in the �unni Triangle�north of Baghdad. He helped build the mess hall and on opening night the troops were fed lobster and crab legs �his favorite meal �but that sort of feast was short-lived.
I sent him packages of treats and goodies then he told me that food, �eal�food would be welcome. Turns out the food they�e served is, as he puts it, �ideous.�And that the food supply is sketchy at best. Even Marines were on one MRE a day. So every week I sent a box of food, things he could microwave and share with his friends, things like Pasta Anytime, rice bowls, and macaroni. Isn� it funny that they have access to microwave ovens but not enough food? The macaroni I sent was his favorite but my friend took some for lunch at work one day and she said it was truly disgusting and that Zac must indeed by famished if he thought it was good!
Overall Zac lost at least fifteen pounds, and he� a tall and skinny kid to begin with.
It infuriates me to hear of the subsidiary or Halliburton, Kellog, Brown, and Root, over-charging for meals that are sub-standard to begin with; parents are keeping the kids fed with boxes of food sent from home while those contractors are fleecing us.
Generally Zac is an upbeat and resourceful person but, as his original �ew months�service turned into six months, then a �ew more weeks,�then longer than a year, he lost his good mood. Last September he was really down. I worried about his mental state as I� never heard him sound so depressed. My daughter picked up on that and, as his birthday was coming up, she decided to make him a little book that contained messages from his friends and family back home.
On his birthday he had 24-hour guard duty and a buddy climbed up the watchtower with a cupcake and a lit candle. After he finished his duty Zac found the gift from his sister.
Later, he told me, �ama, my entire perspective changed when I got that. I was the most down I�e ever been when I went up the watchtower at the beginning of my shift. When I read the words in that book it changed my life.�/p>
It meant so much to his sister that he let her know he valued her gift and that he loved her.
I live in a predominantly traditional, conservative, Republican area but I� seeing people around me becoming very frustrated with this administration� evasion, lies, and duplicity.
I� a professor in a local college where I teach writing to freshman. Every class we spend the first few minutes talking about the news. My students are beginning to understand what it means that the military is spread too thin. One student brought up the topic of reinstating the draft (HR # 163) and the girls in the class realized that they� be eligible. They know that they won� be able to get financial aid, for example, if they�e not registered for the draft. That shook them.
Overall I� say kids are very skeptical about this war and occupation. They believe Bush is wrong. Large numbers of kids are very angry and motivated to do something about it. I�e never seen kids this engaged with the political process.
Zac, too, opposes this action. He knows he could die for something he doesn� believe in. He� back home now and spending time with his daughter who is three and a half years old. She was thrilled when he got back. I could hear her in the background when we were talking on the phone, yelling, �y daddy� home! My daddy� home. I�e also heard her ask in a panicky voice, �addy� not going on a plane again is he?
And who knows when he�l be sent back?