Copied from the Tyler Texas Newspaper -- "DEDICATED TO THE ONES WE LOVE....."

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Date Posted: 09:59:02 07/05/07 Thu
Author: Niski
Subject:

Copied from the Tyler Texas Newspaper

Group Supports Families Of Military

(Courtesy Photo)FAR FROM HOME: PFC Allen Milton, serving in the U.S. Army, Airborne Infantry, is currently stationed in Baghdad, Iraq.By STEPHANIE JETER
Staff Writer

When military mom Melanie Poland stands in the kitchen of her Kilgore home she can't get much farther from the ongoing war in Iraq.

But in thought, Mrs. Poland, mother of PFC Allen Milton of the U.S. Army, might as well be bunked next to her son in the secluded, sweltering country, eating prepackaged MREs and dumping sand out of her boots.

She's what her son lovingly calls an "army mommy."

And there are more like her in East Texas, Mrs. Poland is sure of it.

Hers has been a life spent almost exclusively in the military world. She has a service-focused heritage that spans a scrolling list of father, brother, son, daughter, son-in-laws, uncles, cousins, grandfathers and a catalog of great grandfathers spanning back to the 1700s.

With Mrs. Poland's family history, she's had a life's worth of experience in how to live today knowing tomorrow's not guaranteed.

"I've seen my daddy off to war, and then my husband," she said. "I've even seen my kids off."

No doubt it's been difficult, she said, but bathed in the red, white and blue lineage of captains, corporals and lieutenants, she always got her fill of support from the inside.

But that soon changed. She and her husband divorced and Mrs. Poland left a military base in Germany to move near family in East Texas.

She eventually slipped into civilian life, she said, but when two of her four children enlisted, she realized how much she had relied on military support in deployments past.

"I really began to realize that no one knows what I'm going through," she said. "No one knows the stress our family is under because there's not a military instillation."

Mrs. Poland said she had worried about family when stationed on base, but then, "I was attached to a military association. When your loved one goes off, you know that everyone in your community or housing is behind your soldier."

Without that community, she said "you get a lot of blank stares."

And when you're worried about your child's life, blank stares are not what you need, she said.

It's the little things that take her heart to the war zone where her second-youngest is stationed.

Mrs. Poland knows that "reasonable" women aren't scared of the doorbell and that the ding of e-mail doesn't always mean something's wrong.

But when your child is overseas, fighting for another country's liberation and freedom, she said "unreasonable" tags along.

Like lightning, she said memories zap her senses.

One Sunday morning at church, she said the congregation recited a Psalm, and she lost composure.

"I kept thinking that, when my son was here, he'd be standing next to me holding my hand," she said. "Here you are going about your normal life when all of a sudden the reality hits you; someone is trying to kill my son."

She said that's a common thread between army families and friends, as "every one of us has been seized with unreasonable fears. We need each other."

So, she started digging for a support group, but found nothing.

Fast forward several calls from Mrs. Poland and the addition of four other military mommies to the cause, and the East Texas Military Families and Friends Support Network was born.

The group continues to look for a few good moms to join in.

"And family, and friends," she said. "We want anyone who loves a soldier"

The support group had its first meeting a few months ago, and Mrs. Poland said it is becoming what she's dreamed: a place where resources, prayer requests and a strong shoulder are offered.

Eyeing a framed photo of her son, she said he has an often-asked question.

"He asks, "Hey Mom, how's the Army mommy group?," she said. "I get to tell him the good news"

The East Texas Military Families and Friends Support Network meet every second Tuesday of the month from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. in the Pine Tree High School library in Longview.

For more information, visit the group's Web site, www.easttexasmilitaryfamilies.com.

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