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.

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

From the Front of the Classroom


I'm a community college professor in a big military town (San Diego). My classes are full of students who are active military or veterans, and I have taught several classes at a nearby naval station. The college serves a largely urban population, comprised primarily of people coming back to school, some after a few years and some after decades. The median age of students at the college is close to thirty. The diversity on campus is staggering, but one thing the students have in common is the belief that getting an education can change their lives. It's great to teach students like these, and I truly love my job.

I got to thinking about the veterans in my classes when I read this article about college scholarships for children of soldiers killed in action or training. I know from talking to my students that a big factor in why they enrolled in college was the chance to provide a better life for their children. When military men and women die in service, they lose that opportunity. That's why it is so important to think about what these individuals wanted for their own lives, and what they might have been able to accomplish through their own efforts. We can't change what happened, but there's a lot we can do to help their dreams for their children be realized.
Posted by About AART at 8:03 AM

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