. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .STUDENT WRITING. . . . . . .Military Families<strong>2010</strong> Graduate Morgan Smith’s essay on the importance ofmilitary spouses in keeping families together when a lovedone is deployed. Morgan was awarded the Donna MarieWilson Memorial Scholarship for his essay.My whole life therehas been a strong militaryinfluence in my family. WhenI was younger I didn’t realizehow different my family wasfrom others. Both of myparents were in the militarywhen they met, (my fatherin the Army, my mother inthe Air Force) and my fatherwas still a soldier when I wasborn. When I was growingup it was not strange to methat my father was goneduring the majority of theday, and often returned homein uniform. My dad was asoldier, so everyone else’s dadwas probably pretty similar. However, as the years have gone by I’vebegun to realize how much of an impact the military has had on ourfamily. My siblings and I have all been raised with a sense of patrioticduty, and it never occurred to me that others might think of joiningthe military as a bad decision.My mother was and is the perfect match for my father asa military man, because of her previous experience with themilitary (having served in the Air Force for 2 ½ years). All inall my mother continued to raise my siblings and I through12 military schools or training programs, one active dutydeployment, and one civilian deployment.In 2002 my father was sent to the Sinai Peninsula as a partof Operation Enduring Freedom. Including his training periodhe was away from home for a year. At the time I was only 12, somuch of what my parents were going through never occurred tome until the years following. My mother played a crucial role insupporting my father, as he was obviously nervous about whatcould happen while he was away. My mother had to be strongfor my father, reassuring him that he would be alright and thathe had her for support. She also had to be strong for my brotherand I, raising us on her own, Some of the challenges my motherhad to deal with while my father was away in the Middle Eastincluded keeping the house and property in good shape, dealingwith two growing boys, and sleeping alone. Six months aftermy father returned my brother, David, was deployed to CampVictory in Iraq.In April of 2009 my father was deployed again, this time asa military civilian, to Afghanistan. He was scheduled to stayfor 13 months, but decided to return in August. During thistime I was working for the Northwest Service Academy, whichwas the first real employment I have had other than my father’sbusiness. In my last summer vacation of high school, I foundmyself having to deal with many new experiences and problemsthat I had not dealt with before, and when I was having troubleI had only one parent left to turn to. My mother was a constantsupport throughout this time, and when my father returnedearlier than planned, she was again engaged in helping myfather, who had seen many frightening things in his short stay.Before long another member of my family will be defending ourcountry in the Middle East: my sister is being deployed to Iraqin September and will be stationed at Camp Victory, the same24 | <strong>October</strong>, <strong>2010</strong>. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .place my brother was stationed during his tour.My mother has been the foundational structure in ourfamily, the constant in the equation that involved different familymembers serving America in different parts of the world. I am surethat without her during both of my father’s deployments that thehouse would have been no more than an empty building to me. But itnever was; when I would return home it was to a comforting mother,who has always put her family before herself.Morgan SmithCommunity Christmas ProgramSponsored byMt. Adams Baptist ChurchPerformance—December 18 & 19(rehearsals to begin in November)Volunteers needed!(Kindergarten to Adult) Actors Graphic DesignProps Costumes Contact: Harmony Allaway 395-2222harmony_sings4u@yahoo.com
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . <strong>October</strong>, <strong>2010</strong> | 25