“The job of the artist … is to remind people about what they have chosen to forget." -Arthur Miller
A porttrait of Arthur Miller by Robert Shetterly
Eaton shares a soldier’s view of Iraq
by Sarah Dunham
STONINGTON—“Letters to Baghdad,” a show put on by the Winter Harbor Theatre Company at the St. Lawrence Arts and Community Center in Portland, ran from July 26 through 29 and included a section called “9 Months,” based on Laurie Klemenz’s experiences of having a son in Iraq. Other parts included points of view from those who lost loved ones, experiences of soldiers and songs.
“Letters to Baghdad” was conceived and directed by Caitlin Shetterly, formerly from Brooksville, in the vein of two previous productions, “Letters to Ohio” in 2004 and “Letters to Katrina” in 2005.
Written with Cara Haycack and performed by Denise Poirier, Klemenz’s participation came about as a result of conversations she had with Haycack concerning her son Cory when Haycack went to the restaurant where Klemenz works. They spoke about what she was going through, what her son was telling her, and the negative news coverage; “It was a mother’s story,” says Klemenz.
Laurie and Peter Klemenz haven’t seen their son, Cory Eaton, since February 2005. Eaton, a 1998 graduate of Deer-Isle Stonington High School, entered the military after matriculating from Franklin Pierce College of New Hampshire, where he earned a B.S. Based at Fort Wainwright, Alaska, PFC Eaton received training in diesel mechanics and was shipped to Iraq August 14, 2005.
Some excerpts from his letters follow.
April 15, 2006: “Well today I modified a horn system on a [Humvee], before that we were changing an engine in one of our hemmets—that’s a big…truck. I have gotten pretty good at fixing trucks. When I come home I would really like to go to work with Uncle Dan or Uncle Keith to see if the [marine] engines that they work on are [similar to] what I do.
“I have guard duty. I have guard duty during the hottest part of the day, 2-4 p.m. It will probably get 140°, I am soaked with sweat by the time I am done. I think it is all the gear we have to wear. All the gear adds up to probably sixty extra pounds, it’s heavy but it stops bullets so I have no problem wearing it.”
Even in Iraq, Eaton is able to make connections to home and follow town news. In an e-mail on February 24, 2006, he writes, “I met a kid from Bangor here. [He] has been keeping me informed on the basketball thing. Glenn is one hell of a coach. I think every team he has been with has won a lot of games. I read about the liquor licenses, I think it was a pretty bad idea, they better get a full-time cop instead.”
Regardless of one’s views on the war, Klemenz feels that the troops should be supported: “We all do jobs we don‘t like.” The yellow ribbons for supporting the troops are not synonymous with supporting the war, and red ribbons on Fridays call for bringing the troops home. The news coverage concerning the war bothers Klemenz, who tries “not to watch the news or read the paper” as only the negative is portrayed. This slant can affect the soldiers as well. Eaton writes on December 23, 2005, in response to some of the negative press:
“They don’t know what it’s like to see a little girl probably 10 years old, standing out in the middle of the desert, herding sheep all alone and staring and keeping her herd, they don’t know what its like to see children, little kids that can’t go to school because they have to work to survive.”
On January 25, 2006: “I know you care and I am very proud to be serving my country.”
“It’s the not knowing that’s hardest,” says Klemenz. Communication can be tricky; at best, e-mails can be easily exchanged, at worst, all communication ceases. At one point, they didn’t hear from Cory for 32 days. Eaton explains to his family in a letter, “If something bad happens over here, [if] someone gets killed or hurt, all communication is blacked out that means the phones don’t work, the internet don’t work and the mail is slow,” January 25, 2006. The army enforces these silences so that the correct information reaches the families. Eaton writes later “I know you worry, just know that if something happens to me the army will let you know,” February 9, 2006. But for Klemenz, not hearing from him is very difficult. The Klemenzes find comfort talking with other families with children in Iraq.
Klemenz has been able to send several packages to Eaton and other soldiers. She includes toilet paper, candy, white socks, Frisbees, baby wipes and other miscellaneous items. Eaton’s favorite chips, Humpty Dumpty Barbeque, are a staple. He has sent back gifts, including a carved dolphin and a dolphin pendent, as his mother collects dolphins. In his last e-mail, July 6, 2006, he writes, “Sorry that I have not been able to write in a while we have been packing and getting ready to get out of here. I will be [there in] one month for [his brother] Pete’s birthday. Anyway I have to go, talk to you soon.”
Eaton called his family on July 27, the day before he was to be returning to the states, to let them know that he was being redeployed. As of now, they don’t know where he is going to be stationed or when he will be returning. Eaton’s permanent base will continue to be at Fort Wainwright until 2009. When he returns he could be shipped out again in nine to 12 months.
by Sarah Dunham
STONINGTON—“Letters to Baghdad,” a show put on by the Winter Harbor Theatre Company at the St. Lawrence Arts and Community Center in Portland, ran from July 26 through 29 and included a section called “9 Months,” based on Laurie Klemenz’s experiences of having a son in Iraq. Other parts included points of view from those who lost loved ones, experiences of soldiers and songs.
“Letters to Baghdad” was conceived and directed by Caitlin Shetterly, formerly from Brooksville, in the vein of two previous productions, “Letters to Ohio” in 2004 and “Letters to Katrina” in 2005.
Written with Cara Haycack and performed by Denise Poirier, Klemenz’s participation came about as a result of conversations she had with Haycack concerning her son Cory when Haycack went to the restaurant where Klemenz works. They spoke about what she was going through, what her son was telling her, and the negative news coverage; “It was a mother’s story,” says Klemenz.
Laurie and Peter Klemenz haven’t seen their son, Cory Eaton, since February 2005. Eaton, a 1998 graduate of Deer-Isle Stonington High School, entered the military after matriculating from Franklin Pierce College of New Hampshire, where he earned a B.S. Based at Fort Wainwright, Alaska, PFC Eaton received training in diesel mechanics and was shipped to Iraq August 14, 2005.
Some excerpts from his letters follow.
April 15, 2006: “Well today I modified a horn system on a [Humvee], before that we were changing an engine in one of our hemmets—that’s a big…truck. I have gotten pretty good at fixing trucks. When I come home I would really like to go to work with Uncle Dan or Uncle Keith to see if the [marine] engines that they work on are [similar to] what I do.
“I have guard duty. I have guard duty during the hottest part of the day, 2-4 p.m. It will probably get 140°, I am soaked with sweat by the time I am done. I think it is all the gear we have to wear. All the gear adds up to probably sixty extra pounds, it’s heavy but it stops bullets so I have no problem wearing it.”
Even in Iraq, Eaton is able to make connections to home and follow town news. In an e-mail on February 24, 2006, he writes, “I met a kid from Bangor here. [He] has been keeping me informed on the basketball thing. Glenn is one hell of a coach. I think every team he has been with has won a lot of games. I read about the liquor licenses, I think it was a pretty bad idea, they better get a full-time cop instead.”
Regardless of one’s views on the war, Klemenz feels that the troops should be supported: “We all do jobs we don‘t like.” The yellow ribbons for supporting the troops are not synonymous with supporting the war, and red ribbons on Fridays call for bringing the troops home. The news coverage concerning the war bothers Klemenz, who tries “not to watch the news or read the paper” as only the negative is portrayed. This slant can affect the soldiers as well. Eaton writes on December 23, 2005, in response to some of the negative press:
“They don’t know what it’s like to see a little girl probably 10 years old, standing out in the middle of the desert, herding sheep all alone and staring and keeping her herd, they don’t know what its like to see children, little kids that can’t go to school because they have to work to survive.”
On January 25, 2006: “I know you care and I am very proud to be serving my country.”
“It’s the not knowing that’s hardest,” says Klemenz. Communication can be tricky; at best, e-mails can be easily exchanged, at worst, all communication ceases. At one point, they didn’t hear from Cory for 32 days. Eaton explains to his family in a letter, “If something bad happens over here, [if] someone gets killed or hurt, all communication is blacked out that means the phones don’t work, the internet don’t work and the mail is slow,” January 25, 2006. The army enforces these silences so that the correct information reaches the families. Eaton writes later “I know you worry, just know that if something happens to me the army will let you know,” February 9, 2006. But for Klemenz, not hearing from him is very difficult. The Klemenzes find comfort talking with other families with children in Iraq.
Klemenz has been able to send several packages to Eaton and other soldiers. She includes toilet paper, candy, white socks, Frisbees, baby wipes and other miscellaneous items. Eaton’s favorite chips, Humpty Dumpty Barbeque, are a staple. He has sent back gifts, including a carved dolphin and a dolphin pendent, as his mother collects dolphins. In his last e-mail, July 6, 2006, he writes, “Sorry that I have not been able to write in a while we have been packing and getting ready to get out of here. I will be [there in] one month for [his brother] Pete’s birthday. Anyway I have to go, talk to you soon.”
Eaton called his family on July 27, the day before he was to be returning to the states, to let them know that he was being redeployed. As of now, they don’t know where he is going to be stationed or when he will be returning. Eaton’s permanent base will continue to be at Fort Wainwright until 2009. When he returns he could be shipped out again in nine to 12 months.
Reprinted with permission from the August 10, 2006 issue of Island Ad-Vantages. Copyright 2006 by Penobscot Bay Press, Stonington, Maine