FOR LOVE OF GOD & COUNTRY
Written by: Dolores Linden
On January 17, 1991, I had just finished a 12-hour graveyard shift at the VA Hospital in Denver, where I worked at the time. I arrived home, settled into my typical wind-down routine before going to bed and getting up to do it all over again that evening. I woke up around three in the afternoon, not knowing that our world, and specifically my world had changed forever.
I got a bite to eat and got ready for my next 12-hour shift. My husband who worked for a Government contractor at Lowry, AFB arrived home around 4:20 p.m. and had some bad news. We were at WAR!
Photo by: Donna Spurgin
My mind raced. Back then, we didn’t have News 24/7 or Social Media. I turned on the old little black and white TV in our Kitchen, hoping for a News alert, and there it was! My thoughts immediately went to my kids. I felt my heart in my throat and a gut feeling of near panic!
My son, an active duty Marine was stationed stateside in North Carolina, and my daughter, my baby girl, was in Navy Bootcamp in Orlando, Florida. Both my children were Active duty military in a time of war. My husband, a Navy Veteran, was matter-of-fact about the whole situation. But in my heart, the ‘unknowns’ became my waking reality. How long would this war last? Will my son be deployed? And if so, for how long? Where would my daughter be sent?
Realizing that as the daughter, wife, and now mother of the military, it was my patriotic duty to serve my country I loved so dearly by being a support to my only children, both of whom were at risk of being in harm’s way. I had to make a conscious decision to not wallow in the fears of “what if.” I needed to choose to remain steady, even on the days that my stomach was tied in knots.
Thankfully, I had three factors in my life that gave me strength. First and foremost, was and is my faith in God and the Scriptures that brought me comfort. The second, my wonderful husband and dad, both wise men and Veterans who helped give me perspective, and finally, working and caring for the Vets at the VA Hospital. Those 8-12 hour shifts kept me busy and my mind focused, while in between on breaks I was in front of the TV watching news updates.
I lived in a big city, but I didn’t know other families with military members. Back then, there just wasn’t a support system for military families like there is today. I often wished that there had been a connection because I felt like I was a part of an important larger family, a family supporting our military, serving our country when called.
Desert Storm lasted only a very short time, not years like so many wars in years past. As a mother, I was grateful and blessed that both my kids remained safe, but my mother’s heart aches for the families whose soldiers paid the ultimate price.