Page 35 - KC Cunningham Issue

Tracey continues, “Another incident I recall vividly occurred City. She still has hopes of finishing her degree in the future.
one night when there was a fire. We had to jump in our jeeps When Tracey returned to normal life the situation with Mom
and drive to a safe location. As we did there was gunfire all was still strained. “She wasn’t talking to me for a bit when
around us, and we were told to lock and load and be ready for she found out I was gay. She has since passed, although she
Protecting and Serving our Nation action. We had only a flashlight to lead our way through total never fully accepted it, she dealt with it. I never disrespected
by Judith A. Habert blackness. In the desert the nights are cold and all you can her and never threw my lifestyle in her face. The sad thing was
hear are the sound of desert dogs in the distance. It was really that because of her anger I didn’t know that she truly loved and
scary. I thank God I came back alive. Some people in our unit respected me. I heard from neighbors, after she passed, of how
were sent to Dhahran, Saudi Arabia where I lost a couple of proud she was of me and how much she loved me. I didn’t
good friends, so I am very thankful to have returned safely.” realize it, because in my mind she was always angry with me.”
Conditions were quite primitive when Tracey first arrived in Iraq. For Tracey family has remained important in her life. Her older
Toilet facilities consisted of a shallow hole dug in the dirt, scorpi- sister who passed away when Tracey was only 16 left behind
ons and spiders often took up residence in Tracey’s boots, and a daughter, and today has a 3 year old son, who was ironically
food was primarily MRE’s. This is short for ‘Meal, Ready-to-Eat,’ born on her Mom’s birthday. Some of Tracey’s favorite times
which is an individual, self contained field ration in lightweight are spent visiting her family, who still live back East.
packaging used by the military to provide food and nutrition to How has life been for Tracey since returning to civilian life?
its members in combat or field conditions, where food was not When Tracey was first back from Iraq she felt as if she was just
readily available. Although MRE meals are perfect for food fine. As time progressed she realized that there were certain
storage and emergency situations, they are not especially tasty. situations that were extremely stressful for her. “I can recall one
Tracey lost 20 lbs while in Iraq. time I was driving along Valley Parkway in Escondido while they
Not only were the physical conditions difficult, but it was at were doing some construction. There was a loud boom and
this time that Tracey was forced to deal with a very emotional I had to pull over. I started shaking uncontrollably. I suppose
event in her life. While in the service Tracey kept touch with it brought me back to those scud missile attacks in Iraq. The
her Mom whenever she could. When they were allowed to go sounds of helicopters and sirens of any kind do that to me as
into town she could phone her Mom to let her know she was well.”
okay. During one of these phone calls Tracey found her Mom A recent diagnosis explained the problems Tracey was experi-
extremely distant and seemingly upset. To her dismay, Mom encing. Not unlike many returning military, Tracey suffers from
had received some news that Tracey had hoped to be able to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) a severe anxiety disor-
tell her Mom face to face. Tracey, who had year earlier realized der that can develop after exposure to any event which results
that she was gay, had not yet told her Mom. Unfortunately a in psychological trauma. Approximately 7.7 million American
former roommate, out of anger, had decided to break the news adults age 18 and older suffer from post traumatic stress disor- San Diego Woman
while Tracey was on the other side of the world fighting for our der. About 19 percent of Vietnam veterans experienced PTSD
nation’s freedom. Tracey was somewhat relieved that the news at some point after the war. The disorder also frequently occurs
was finally out, but had wished she could have been the one after violent personal assaults such as rape, mugging, or do-
to inform her Mom. Tracey knew that she would have to deal mestic violence; terrorism; natural or human-caused disasters; 35
with the situation when she returned, praying that she would be and accidents. The numbers of sufferers from Iran and Iraq
going home soon. have not yet been calculated and it may take years for these
Luckily Tracey’s unit was full of surgeons and medical person- statistics to surface.
nel, who had practices back home that awaited their return, so Even though Tracey did not survive her time in the military
they were luckily brought back after 4.5 months. Tracey recalls without some emotional scars to show for her service to our
her reaction when her plane touched down in the U.S. “I was country, she has managed to move on with her life . While in
so glad to go home. I kissed the tarmac when I got off the the reserves Tracey had some of her training at Camp Pendle-
plane. I was so relieved that I lived through it.” Tracey goes ton and it was this experience that led her to make a move to
on to say, “Our return was amazing….so many people came out San Diego. Today she lives in Escondido and works as a card
to greet us. People were waving flags, and the media cover- dealer at Harrah’s Resort and Casino.
age was intense. They treated us so well when we arrived At San Diego Woman we are so thankful for those military men
home. People were hugging and kissing us. It was awesome. and women who have made such
With this war people have gotten much more respectful of the sacrifices for our country and feel
military and are much more grateful. When they hear I have there is only one sentence that
served in Iraq they will often say ‘thank you for your service.’” explains how we feel. To Tracey
Although it was Tracey’s plan to finish college, the conditions and all of the other soldiers out
upon her return would not allow it. The creditors, who are put there we would like to say “Thank
on hold while our soldiers are deployed, attack once our service you for your service!”
personnel return, so Tracey had to go back to work full time to
pay off past debt. She worked as a police officer for a time and
then ended up training to be a casino dealer. Living at the time
in New Jersey she went to work for several casinos in Atlantic
March/April 2010