A week ago, Terry D. of West Linn, Oregon got a call she hoped she’d never get. It was her oldest daughter, Erin, a Marine Corps reservist who was in her fifth and final year of service. She had just received word that she was going to be deployed to Iraq.
Iraq is the last place you want your child to have to go to. Physically my body knew it was coming, though I’ve been dreading it for five years and hoping she wouldn’t have to go. I told my husband and he just sat there for three hours and was unable to move. Everybody deals with things different. For me I couldn’t sleep for a week. My husband and I sent out emails asking for prayers and have received a lot of support that way.
Terry says Erin has never fully articulated why she enlisted in the military, only that it “was a calling she felt.” She says she was “surprised” when her daughter, a “pretty, popular, athletic, straight A student” told her that she had signed up with a recruiter. Terry’s husband tried to dissuade their daughter, but she was undeterred. “This was even before September 11th,” says Terry. “She just felt this call and wanted to answer it.”Erin has two other two sisters, Tracy, 21, and Kelly, 20, both of whom are working to pay their way through college. Terry says they have provided tremendous support to her in the past week. “We’re such a close family and that’s been a great comfort,” she says.
It’s been particularly hard for Terry because she opposed the war to begin with. “I thought, who are we to do this?” says Terry. “I didn’t believe there was a plan. I could’ve echoed what Barack was saying from the beginning. I didn’t believe it was justified from start and I don’t believe we’re justified in continuing it.”Unlike many, who will never feel the personal sting of this war, for Terry, it hits close to home. “For my family, there’s a very real price,” she says, “a very real price.” That’s part of why Terry has decided to become actively involved in this election cycle, something she has never done before.Terry became interested in Barack several weeks ago, after reading his book The Audacity of Hope. She was so impressed she not only decided to support him, but she implored all of her friends to read the book. One of her friends told her that she went to the local library and tried to take out the book, but was told that there was a waiting list of 103 people. “I said ‘103 people… You’re kidding me! Well we have to do something about that.’ So I went out and I bought ten copies of the book and gave five each to both of the local branches in my neighborhood.” Terry then took things a step further and shared her idea at my.BarackObama.com, encouraging others across the country to follow suit. “I figured there’s probably lots of waiting lists all across the country,” she says, “and I think it’s so important that people get a chance to read this book.An Apple computer enthusiast, Terry also started another group called Macs for Barack, which encourages people to donate their old Macs. Some she says, she hopes to donate to the campaign for staffers who may need them. Others will go to people who previously lacked internet access so that they can learn about Barack online. She says she has already gotten 12 people across the country to donate computers.Keeping busy and active has helped Terry get her mind, at least for the time being, away from the pain of her daughter leaving for Iraq.
We’re just taking it a day at a time. I think 'Oh it's gonna be a good day this is great' and then im paralyzed the next day. Sometimes I feel like there’s really no healthy way to deal with it, because its such an unhealthy war. It's only been a week. But this campaign, Barack, emanates a hope.
"If he can deliver that into action, which I believe he can, we're going to end this war and change the country."
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