INTERVIEW WITH LINDA BENOIT
Linda� son, �ob,�is back from Iraq and deployed to Okinawa. He serves with the Marines 3rd AABN.
Linda: Bob participated in the initial war in Iraq � Shock and Awe -- last year (2003) from February 3 to July 24. His Marine unit is amphibious and his job is laying out the landing gear for the Marines to storm the beach. His unit was one of the first to cross the line from Kuwait into Iraq. He had several close calls when his vehicle was attacked with RPGs �one grenade when through the humvee he was in and another went right overhead.
After he returned from Iraq he came home for a visit. I noticed a real change in his personality and he was angry. Slowly I came to understand that he� need a while to work through those experiences. After all, in Iraq he was constantly hot, tired, never had enough sleep, never had enough food, didn� shower for ten days or more at a time, wore the same clothes, and was generally physically and emotionally overextended. After a couple of weeks at home he started returning to his old self.
Even though he� not in Iraq anymore I� still worry about him in Okinawa. There is still a lot of conflict with N. Korea and who knows where that is going. One never knows with the military.
My son-in-law is a pilot who works with the Global Hawk. That job is pretty stable in that he� stayed in the same place for five years. Even though he� a pilot he operates the Global Hawk remotely and he doesn� go into the field.
Generally my ability to communicate with Bob while he� gone has been good. When he� not aboard ship, he writes and sends pictures. I�e received a few calls from his Staff Sergeant and there are teams of volunteers that send messages to troops. Sometimes the news is about a month old but it� better than nothing.
For a short while I attended some of the �upport the Troops�rallies organized by families of Marines. But they became uncomfortable for me as they start off as supporting the troops and quickly veer toward supporting President Bush and this war. Since I support neither the president or the war I find I must carefully guard what I say.
I support my son and he knows that. I think we did a good thing by removing Saddam, a man who created so much death and destruction for his own people. But I believe we jumped into this war too soon and I believe the American people were lied to by this administration.
Arlington (Texas) is a big town and I have people here who agree with me. I also have friends who don� agree with me and we don� talk about it. Then there are some people who believe President Bush is on a mission from God.
Overall my impression is that people don� know what is going on. I hear people say, �e have to retaliate because of 9/11.� They don� seem to know that seventeen of the nineteen hijackers of those airplanes were Saudis and not Iraqis. This war has nothing directly to do with 9/11.
Bob enlisted after 9/11. He was just seventeen and still in high school and he� always wanted to be in the military; after school, he� walk to the base and train with the troops.
Bob wanted to learn helicopter mechanics and his recruiter came to our home and told him in front of us that there was no problem with Bob learning those skills.
Bob kept his grades up and in boot camp he made good scores. But, at the very last minute, his recruiter told him one other fellow had earned slightly higher scores and, since there was only one helicopter mechanic job available it was going to the other guy. Instead, Bob would get the job of Amphibious Assault Crewman �dropping the landing track from ship to shore. Or he could be a gunner. Both choices were combat activities; what kind of a choice is that? Since Bob didn� have a backup plan �as I said, he wanted to join the military �he signed the last paper agreeing to combat.
I was very angry that this had all happened at the last minute. I didn� trust anything after that. And then, in Iraq, he was fighting the war. Bob was a combat veteran at the ripe old age of eighteen.
Bob� morale seems better now. While in Iraq there were days when he was very low. And the morale of the troops generally seems very low over there. I understand why. And in Bob� case, he comes from a middle class family. He wasn� used to discomfort and not getting regular meals and that happened a lot.
Bob still likes the Marines but he wants to be home. I last saw Bob November 1st (2003). We�e missed birthdays, Christmas, Easter, Mother� and Father� Daythe family �four kids and a son-in-law -- misses Bob and we worry about him. Meanwhile, Bob has traveled to California, Germany, Kuwait, Iraq, Okinawa, Australia, Hawaii, and Korea.
I� a member of Military Families Speak Out; I support our troops but not the war. My husband says we should get out of Iraq and let the UN take over.