When my father, Odysseus, and his men sailed off to the Trojan War, they were confident their gods favored a quick victory. Instead, the siege of Troy lasted ten years. After Troy fell, the survivors made their way home to Sparta, Mycenae, Pylos, and elsewhere in the ancient Peloponnese. Neither my father nor any of his troops arrived home with the rest. We waited for years as the news grew worse. Odysseus was dead, we were told,or imprisoned, or, worst yet, he had married another woman and abandoned my mother Penelope, my brother Telemachus, and me.


If he is alive somewhere, his thoughts may wander to Penelope and Telemachus, but he won’t be thinking of me. I am the daughter he doesn’t know exists. Odysseus went off to the Trojan War when his son, Telemachus, was barely old enough to walk. His wife, Penelope, was a teenage bride, and is now a young wife, mother, and queen who has to try to rule Ithaca without him.


I was born seven months after he left. I am a hero’s daughter and a princess of his realm, but I have lived my entire life without a father. I’m nineteen now, and still waiting.


All over the world, and throughout history children grow up as I have. This website will focus on the children of those men and women who have gone off to fight America's wars, and provide information and resources for all who care about military families and want to help.

Friday, November 5, 2010

Making the Grade

Here’s a great idea!  The Army and Air Force Exchange at Fort Gordon in Georgia has a program, now in its tenth year, called “You Made the Grade. The program recognizes students stationed at Fort Gordon  who achieve a “B” average or better in school, by awarding them a booklet filled with fun benefits. Recipients get a free Burger King kids meal, video rental, a discount on any new release DVD at a local store, and other appealing things.
There also a chance at one big thing. The packet includes an entry form for a drawing to win a savings bond worth up to $5,000.  That is no small thing, certainly, for if the bond is earmarked for college, winning it could have an important effect on a child’s aspirations. 
Military children, especially those with deployed parents, are at greater risk of school absenteeism and failure, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics.   “Promoting the benefits of a good education is what makes this program so important to us and the community we serve,” says Sheila Miller, the Gordon Exchange Manager. “This effort represents an investment in our nation’s future.”
To receive the “You Made the Grade” booklet, students need only present a valid military ID card and proof of an overall “B” or better average to the Exchange. Students may receive one coupon package for every qualifying report card, and enter the drawing for the savings bond once per calendar year.
Posted by About AART at 7:35 AM

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