Published: Sunday, April 22, 2007
A mother's love helps troops cope with life in Iraq
Brenda Skylstad spent a good part of Friday wiping away tears. After a two-week leave, her 24-year-old daughter was on her way back to Iraq.
"I just wanted to hug her, put her in a closet, and hide her," the Edmonds woman said of her daughter, Army Spec. Angela Hill-Espinoza.
The young woman, a mother of two little boys whose home is in Vancouver, Wash., is going back to her unit in Ramadi, Iraq. She works as a diesel mechanic.
"She flew out of Fort Lewis today," Skylstad said Friday, her voice shaky with emotion. "She looked tired. Her skin is dry. She seemed to have a hard time giving herself permission to sit and relax."
Skylstad, 43, can't relax, either. She spends lots of time worrying about her daughter, but she has better things to do than weep.
Since Hill-Espinoza left for Iraq last fall, her mother has shipped about 800 pounds of items - baby wipes, snacks, clothing, cocoa packets, dry noodles, hygiene supplies, all sorts of things - to her daughter's unit, part of an engineering company based at Fort Lewis.
"She's been able to share items with Marines in outposts who have access to pretty much nothing. When they saw 78 pounds of beef jerky, she said they were so thankful," Skylstad said.
Her daughter, she said, was thrilled to have something as basic as dry cereal. "She had no milk. Sometimes they're too busy to stop to eat. They just grab something and go."
Employees of Stevens Hospital and the city of Edmonds have pitched in, donating all sorts of things to help Skylstad's grass-roots effort. These days, finding money to ship the items has been a challenge for Skylstad, who cares for her special-needs stepson.
Through her daughter, Skylstad has learned of other efforts. She has addresses of troops in Iraq and Afghanistan who are providing school supplies, shoes and sporting goods to orphaned children in those countries.
"I had an interesting conversation with my daughter. One of her sergeants wants to collect soccer balls for these children. Keep them busy playing, they may be less influenced by insurgents," she said.
Skylstad isn't shy about sharing her opinions of those who don't support the war effort.
"People are so tired of hearing about war, tired of reading about it, tired of hearing what it's costing us," she said. "They lose sight of what it costs the soldiers as individuals, and their families.
"Troops come home on leave, they're listening to all of this bickering, in the House and the Senate. I think it's really very upsetting to them. They're putting everything they have into trying to help the Iraqi people," Skylstad said.
Skylstad's two grandsons, Dylan, 3, and Ramone, 1, await the return of their mom. Hugo Espinoza, Angela's husband, along with a cousin, are caring for the boys. When their mother was first home on leave, the 1-year-old didn't know her, Skylstad said.
While home, Skylstad's daughter stunned her with news that she's seriously considering extending her Army career when decision time comes in 2008.
"The grandma in me, well, she should have told me to sit down first," Skylstad said.
In the meantime, soldiers she has never met are grateful for her efforts on the home front.
Her daughter's commander, Maj. Michael Trofinoff, recently sent Skylstad an American flag and a certificate. "It explains that they used the flag on a mission my daughter was involved in," she said.
"It scares me that she goes out on these missions," Skylstad said. "It's all very scary."
Columnist Julie Muhlstein: 425-339-3460 or muhlsteinjulie@heraldnet.com.
"I just wanted to hug her, put her in a closet, and hide her," the Edmonds woman said of her daughter, Army Spec. Angela Hill-Espinoza.
The young woman, a mother of two little boys whose home is in Vancouver, Wash., is going back to her unit in Ramadi, Iraq. She works as a diesel mechanic.
"She flew out of Fort Lewis today," Skylstad said Friday, her voice shaky with emotion. "She looked tired. Her skin is dry. She seemed to have a hard time giving herself permission to sit and relax."
Skylstad, 43, can't relax, either. She spends lots of time worrying about her daughter, but she has better things to do than weep.
Since Hill-Espinoza left for Iraq last fall, her mother has shipped about 800 pounds of items - baby wipes, snacks, clothing, cocoa packets, dry noodles, hygiene supplies, all sorts of things - to her daughter's unit, part of an engineering company based at Fort Lewis.
"She's been able to share items with Marines in outposts who have access to pretty much nothing. When they saw 78 pounds of beef jerky, she said they were so thankful," Skylstad said.
Her daughter, she said, was thrilled to have something as basic as dry cereal. "She had no milk. Sometimes they're too busy to stop to eat. They just grab something and go."
Employees of Stevens Hospital and the city of Edmonds have pitched in, donating all sorts of things to help Skylstad's grass-roots effort. These days, finding money to ship the items has been a challenge for Skylstad, who cares for her special-needs stepson.
Through her daughter, Skylstad has learned of other efforts. She has addresses of troops in Iraq and Afghanistan who are providing school supplies, shoes and sporting goods to orphaned children in those countries.
"I had an interesting conversation with my daughter. One of her sergeants wants to collect soccer balls for these children. Keep them busy playing, they may be less influenced by insurgents," she said.
Skylstad isn't shy about sharing her opinions of those who don't support the war effort.
"People are so tired of hearing about war, tired of reading about it, tired of hearing what it's costing us," she said. "They lose sight of what it costs the soldiers as individuals, and their families.
"Troops come home on leave, they're listening to all of this bickering, in the House and the Senate. I think it's really very upsetting to them. They're putting everything they have into trying to help the Iraqi people," Skylstad said.
Skylstad's two grandsons, Dylan, 3, and Ramone, 1, await the return of their mom. Hugo Espinoza, Angela's husband, along with a cousin, are caring for the boys. When their mother was first home on leave, the 1-year-old didn't know her, Skylstad said.
While home, Skylstad's daughter stunned her with news that she's seriously considering extending her Army career when decision time comes in 2008.
"The grandma in me, well, she should have told me to sit down first," Skylstad said.
In the meantime, soldiers she has never met are grateful for her efforts on the home front.
Her daughter's commander, Maj. Michael Trofinoff, recently sent Skylstad an American flag and a certificate. "It explains that they used the flag on a mission my daughter was involved in," she said.
"It scares me that she goes out on these missions," Skylstad said. "It's all very scary."
Columnist Julie Muhlstein: 425-339-3460 or muhlsteinjulie@heraldnet.com.
Help for troops
Brenda Skylstad of Edmonds has spent months gathering items to send to troops serving in Iraq. She has also obtained addresses to send letters to wounded U.S. soldiers, and to send items to troops and needy children in Iraq and Afghanistan.
To send letters to wounded troops:
Capt. Teresa Tomlinson, attn. Wounded Soldier 520th medical company (AS) COB Speicher APO AE 09393
To send items to Afghanistan:
Joseph L. Shellhart attn: Any Soldier Alpha Co. SECFOR 41st BCT Gardez APO AE 09320
To send items to Iraq:
CPT Maria E. Chandler attn: Any Soldier HHC, 325 BSB, 25 IBCT Camp Warrior APO AE 09338
To make a donation for shipping items:
Pony Mailbox, 9792 Edmonds Way, Edmonds Information: 425-778-7092
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