Fort Hood shootings hit too close to home

November 5, 8:26 PMDallas History ExaminerLeslie Wagner

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Lt. Gen. Robert Cone gives public statement on Nov. 5 shootings at Fort Hood, Texas. AP Photo/American-Statesman, Rodolfo Gonzalez

Tragedy strikes in many ways, but when it hits home or strikes close by, we respond in shock, disbelief, and even fear. As Texans with family members in the military who are on active duty in war zones elsewhere in the world, we contemplate daily the safety of our sons and daughters or our husbands and wives. We feel the rush of relief when we hear their voices via long distance or see them step off the plane on American soil once again.

So when we hear of such tragic events as those which unfolded at Fort Hood this week, where a fellow American has allegedly turned on his fellow soldiers in a bloody rampage, we wonder if any place is safe.

I write this because my son is currently at Fort Hood awaiting his deployment to either Iraq or Afghanistan. He arrived with his unit on Nov. 4 and was undergoing processing on Nov. 5 at the Soldier Readiness Center. But unlike the alleged shooter, as a "good American," my son has already served in Iraq and was ready to return there again. And yes, my son was there in the building where it all went down.

I knew nothing of the shootings until my daughter-in-law, his bride of only 6 weeks, called me mid-afternoon in a panic, because she knew he was processing through the Readiness Center - it was highly likely he was in the midst of the incident. The next few hours were extremely tense as we could glean little more than the climbing count of dead and wounded, the latest reports revealing 13 dead and 30 wounded, from the internet news websites. When I couldn’t get through to my son on his cell phone, my concern grew, but finally he sent us a short text message with, “I’m okay.” Moments later, my daughter-in-law called and announced he had spoken with her directly, albeit brief, and through his tears he told her he was in the room where the shooting started, reassured her he was okay and hung up. On Friday, she and I drove to Fort Hood to see him.

My son's deploying reserve unit is a medical group and his MOS is that of Medic. He carries an EMT licence in civilian life, Many of the shooting victims were shot at close range and some were shot more than once from the 5.7 mm handguns the shooter, U.S. Army major Malik Nadal Hassan used. Hassan carried multiple clips of 20 round magazines and continued his killing spree until he was finally subdued. I feel confident that they did their best to save the lives of those who survived this madness.

Yes, this cuts way too close to home, and my son was one of the more fortunate. We were lucky. Some families have not fared so well. My sincerest sympathies go out to them. We share our shock and grief for their sons and daughters, their wives and husbands, and we ask, “Why?” But will there ever be an answer?