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American Morning
Comings and Goings of War
Aired September 29, 2003 - 07:39 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: As the first U.S. Army soldiers deployed in Iraq take a two week leave from combat, others are preparing to leave home, awaiting orders for Iraq.
David Mattingly looks at one small town that is all too familiar with the comings and goings of war.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Natives call it El Dorado, a town of little over 20,000 deep in rural southern Arkansas, the unlikely place to find the crossroads of battle.
TOM WILSON, ARKANSAS NATIONAL GUARDSMAN: Right now, tentatively, we're scheduled for a call-up for activation to Iraq.
MATTINGLY: Tom Wilson prepares to leave his family. A combat field medic with the 39th Infantry, he is one of 10,000 Arkansas National Guardsmen waiting for orders to Iraq. At the same time, across town, another family welcomes their soldier home. But even this happy moment will soon change. Private First Class Dustin Bohannon is among the first troops shuttled home for a brief vacation, just two weeks R&R before he returns to driving a tank in Baghdad.
PFC. DUSTIN BOHANNON, 3RD BRIGADE: It's definitely tough on the people here. Like I said, you're -- when you're over there, you're not thinking about home. You're just thinking about, you know, what you have to do, what are you doing the next day, the -- you're always too busy to, you know, be thinking of other stuff.
MATTINGLY: So, soldiers in El Dorado are making the most of every day.
Tom Wilson is one of two local paramedics getting called up from a staff of 13. The town will have to make do while he's gone. So will his family.
CHRISTIE WILSON, WIFE: You know, you still know that they are going. You still know that they could be gone a year or a year and a half. So there's no way to really prepare yourself.
MATTINGLY: Dustin Bohannon has been through the goodbyes before. He's savoring moments like this, when he surprises his girlfriend at the Friday night football game. But as sweet as these moments are, a new round of goodbyes will soon arrive and with them a return to the endless days of anxious waiting.
JOHN BOHANNON, FATHER: Somebody was killed yesterday. And you start wondering was it him? And it's scary. It's scary.
MATTINGLY: David Mattingly, CNN, El Dorado, Arkansas.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: Orders went out Friday to mobilize some 10,000 U.S. National Guard troops and put 5,000 more troops on alert.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired September 29, 2003 - 07:39 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: As the first U.S. Army soldiers deployed in Iraq take a two week leave from combat, others are preparing to leave home, awaiting orders for Iraq.
David Mattingly looks at one small town that is all too familiar with the comings and goings of war.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Natives call it El Dorado, a town of little over 20,000 deep in rural southern Arkansas, the unlikely place to find the crossroads of battle.
TOM WILSON, ARKANSAS NATIONAL GUARDSMAN: Right now, tentatively, we're scheduled for a call-up for activation to Iraq.
MATTINGLY: Tom Wilson prepares to leave his family. A combat field medic with the 39th Infantry, he is one of 10,000 Arkansas National Guardsmen waiting for orders to Iraq. At the same time, across town, another family welcomes their soldier home. But even this happy moment will soon change. Private First Class Dustin Bohannon is among the first troops shuttled home for a brief vacation, just two weeks R&R before he returns to driving a tank in Baghdad.
PFC. DUSTIN BOHANNON, 3RD BRIGADE: It's definitely tough on the people here. Like I said, you're -- when you're over there, you're not thinking about home. You're just thinking about, you know, what you have to do, what are you doing the next day, the -- you're always too busy to, you know, be thinking of other stuff.
MATTINGLY: So, soldiers in El Dorado are making the most of every day.
Tom Wilson is one of two local paramedics getting called up from a staff of 13. The town will have to make do while he's gone. So will his family.
CHRISTIE WILSON, WIFE: You know, you still know that they are going. You still know that they could be gone a year or a year and a half. So there's no way to really prepare yourself.
MATTINGLY: Dustin Bohannon has been through the goodbyes before. He's savoring moments like this, when he surprises his girlfriend at the Friday night football game. But as sweet as these moments are, a new round of goodbyes will soon arrive and with them a return to the endless days of anxious waiting.
JOHN BOHANNON, FATHER: Somebody was killed yesterday. And you start wondering was it him? And it's scary. It's scary.
MATTINGLY: David Mattingly, CNN, El Dorado, Arkansas.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: Orders went out Friday to mobilize some 10,000 U.S. National Guard troops and put 5,000 more troops on alert.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
