by Tanya Biank
Meanwhile strides have been made in providing care, counseling, and treatment for individuals and couples in need throughout the armed forces. Yet, in a culture that values not only physical but also emotional strength and stability, the stigma of reaching out for help will be difficult to remove.
Since three of the soldiers who killed their wives served in Afghanistan before the murders, the Army began having its soldiers deployed there fill out psychological-screening questionnaires before coming home. The fifty-five-point checklist, called a “Pre-Redeployment Screening,” asked about feelings of depression, anxiety, and hostility. Some soldiers nicknamed it the “Don’t Kill Your Wife Questionnaire” and thought the whole thing was not only ineffective but also a joke. After all, who would put down something negative that would end up in his file? Others saw the questionnaire as nothing more than “finger drilling” (going through the motions), an attempt by the Army to show it was doing something. Nevertheless, if a soldier did use the questionnaire to cry out for help, he or she would receive counseling both before and after coming home. Commanders have also been encouraged to look for such symptoms of distress as depression and anxiety.
Fort Bragg has altered its domestic violence policies, held domestic violence workshops, leadership seminars, and candlelight vigils, and mailed brochures with family-help contact numbers to thousands of Army spouses. Many commanders on post now want to be immediately informed of domestic abuse involving soldiers in their units.
Although Armywide redeployment and reunion briefings have long been mandatory for soldiers and also offered to spouses, they have generally been taken more seriously since the murders. Depending on the unit and the attitude of those involved, these briefings can be meaningful or just a check-the-box exercise. The talks emphasize examining expectations and putting yourself in your spouse’s shoes. The men are told not to assume everything will be just as it was when they left home. After all, their kids have grown, and their wives, who have had to be both mother and father, might not want to relinquish their newfound independence. Husbands have to realize they are coming back to a family unit that has adjusted to life without them, and now has to adjust once again.
The women are counseled about expectations, too. They hear that their husbands may not welcome candlelit dinners at home or big nights out. Instead they might be withdrawn and want to sleep day and night. The men may be emotionally and physically exhausted and may not want to talk about their experiences. Wives are told not to take it personally and advised to keep things low-key for a while. In the past the recommendation was to maintain the status quo, which some leaders took to an extreme, admonishing wives not to cut their hair or rearrange the family-room furniture. More recent briefings take into account that life does move on during a six-month or yearlong deployment. As for sex, that’s covered, too, with husbands and wives urged to communicate with each other before jumping in the sack.
Most Army units today in Iraq and Afghanistan have also incorporated a transitional week or two of “light duty” when soldiers return and before they take their standard two weeks of leave. Going to classes and physical training, and cleaning and inventorying weapons, help maintain routine and counteract the reverse culture shock of coming home.
Fort Bragg continues to be a busy place. Before the September 11, 2001, attacks, the post had more than five thousand soldiers deployed to thirty countries. With the war in Afghanistan, the number of deployed troops tripled. Since the war in Iraq began, half of Fort Bragg’s soldiers have been deployed at one time.
The exact causes of the Fort Bragg slayings will, of course, never be known. In the end we can only surmise. We can’t talk to the dead. Some military and law-enforcement officials have said the only link among the murders was troubled marriages, and surely a strong case can be made to prove that point. I tend to agree with the Pentagon report, which points to a combination of existing marital problems compounded by the stress of hectic training schedules for combat units and lengthy deployment separations. As Rita Odom said, Army life will either pull you apart as a couple or bind you closer together.
My premise here has been that the soldiers who committed murder saw they were about to lose something to which they were emotionally attached, and it triggered a wrath they never knew they had. I am still puzzled by the demonic reactions of otherwise rational people, and I find myself asking questions that have no definitive answers: Does every man have a breaking point? And if so, how does it manifest itself?
It’s too easy and too much of a generalization to say, “He just snapped” or “He was wired that way,” though that’s what I heard about the Bragg murderers. I believe it’s more complicated, that it has less to do with decent people losing it and everything to do with emotion—something soldiers are expected to keep in check. I have asked Army guys, married and single, if they could ever envision themselves getting enraged enough to kill a spouse. I got all kinds of answers, from “No, I’d walk away,” to “Maybe when I was younger” and “If I was mad enough.” The answer that struck me as the most revealing was: “I don’t know.”
As the war in Iraq kicked off, many people told me to mark their words, we hadn’t seen anything yet. They were sure there would be more spouse murders to come. Their prediction was borne out on July 22, 2004, at Fort Hood, Texas. Sergeant William Edwards shot and killed his estranged wife, Sergeant Erin Edwards, on her front porch. He then went across the street to a parking lot and killed himself. The couple had returned from Iraq a few months earlier, where both served with the 4th Infantry Division. The Edwards, who had two young children, had a history of domestic problems.
In the second case on May 21, 2005, in a bizarre twist, a Fort Bragg soldier, Ronna Valentine, returned from Iraq for two weeks of leave, but within hours her husband, James Valentine, had killed her with a 12-gauge shotgun before killing himself. It was Armed Forces Day. This couple, too, had problems in their past.
Meanwhile the subjects of this book have continued on with their lives:
Andrea Lynne still loves and grieves for Rennie. She says that her pain and loss have sharpened and shaped every aspect of her life, including her happiness. She has found new love with Roland, who remains her comfort and shelter. The Corys’ oldest daughter, Natalie, graduated from Baylor University in May 2004 and was married in November 2004. Caroline is a junior at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and their son, Rennie, is a freshman at his parents’ alma mater, Appalachian State University. Their youngest, Madelyn, is a high school freshman.
Rita is still employed at Highsmith-Rainey Memorial Hospital. Her husband, Sergeant Brian Odom, returned from Afghanistan on January 15, 2003, three days before Johnathan’s fifth birthday. Brian got out of the Army on December 12, 2003, just before his unit left for a six-month deployment to Iraq. He is currently studying to be a forensic technician at Fayetteville Technical Community College. When Brian graduates in 2006, Rita plans to go back to school to obtain a doctorate in pharmacy. Jay, Alan, and Johnathan are all in elementary school.
Delores is considering part-time or volunteer work and would like to be on a suicide prevention hotline. Her son’s memory is with her daily. She plans on taking a few classes at Fayetteville Technical Community College and is interested in studying piano and voice. Command Sergeant Major Gary Kalinofski deployed to Afghanistan on January 4, 2003, and returned home July 12, 2003. After thirty years of active duty, he retired from the Army on July 9, 2004. He is now the vice president for military affairs for a military housing company at Fort Bragg. Cherish is a high school sophomore.
The three children of Sergeant First Class Brandon and Andrea Floyd are being raised by Andrea’s mother, Penny Flitcraft, in Andrea’s hometown, Alliance, Ohio. Penny and the children visit Andrea’s grave often. She says the ache of losing her daughter never goes away, and the family continues to miss and honor her.
Master Sergeant Bill Wright hanged himself in his jail cell on March 23, 2003, as he awaited tria
l. The Wrights’ three sons now live with Jennifer’s sister in Springboro, Ohio.
In March 2005 Sergeant Cedric Griffin pleaded guilty to murdering his wife, Marilyn, and setting her home on fire. He is serving a life sentence at Central Prison in Raleigh, North Carolina. Marilyn’s two daughters live with relatives in Georgia.
On August 31, 2005, a Fayetteville jury convicted Joan Shannon of first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit murder, and accessory after the fact to murder for the death of her husband, Major David Shannon. The judge sentenced her to life without parole; her attorney said she plans to appeal. Joan Shannon’s daughter, Elizabeth, pleaded guilty in June 2004 to second-degree murder in the death of her stepfather. In exchange for testifying against her mother, Elizabeth will serve a twenty-five to thirty-year sentence.
The daughter of Sergeant First Class Rigoberto and Teresa Nieves lives with Teresa’s mother in California.
Lieutenant Sam Pennica of the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Department was promoted to the rank of major, and his homicide detective, Sergeant Charlie Disponzio, was promoted to lieutenant.
As for me, I met a Fort Bragg officer on a blind date in August 2002. We got engaged seven months later in Kuwait, and I left the newspaper shortly after. We married in June 2004, a few months after his return from Iraq.
Gentlemen:
I reverently pledge you: The ladies who have shared our lives from the Equator to the Arctic; the ladies who have condoned our reverses, and inspired but to applaud our successes.
May we live to make them happy, or, and the Great Day comes, so die as to make them proud.
The Army Women, God Bless Them.
—General George Smith Patton, Jr.
April 5, 1924
(A toast to “the ladies” at
a West Point dinner in Kansas City)
NOTE TO READERS
All of the principal individuals described in this work are identified by their real names; however, in a few instances, the names and identifying characteristics of others have been changed.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
As a writer and Army brat it has been an honor, a privilege—and a great responsibility—to write this book. Telling the story of U.S. Army wives and the culture that surrounds them was something I didn’t do lightly, and I hope I’ve done this cloistered, unknown world justice.
I first want to thank the women who shared their stories. I learned much from each of them, and I appreciate their candidness, honesty, and their faith in me to neither distort nor sensationalize their lives. In the case of Andrea Floyd, I am grateful to her family and friends.
A special thank-you to my agent, Rafe Sagalyn, for introducing me to the world of book publishing and for encouraging me to think big. Thanks also to his assistant, Jennifer Graham, for her early encouragement.
I am grateful to Diane Reverand, my editor at St. Martin’s Press, who believed in and supported this project from the beginning. Her assistant, Regina Scarpa, also made this whole process a more pleasant one. My appreciation to the copyeditor, Sue Llewellyn, for her astute observations.
It has been an honor to work with Joan Tapper, my editor, confidante, and friend in Santa Barbara, California. Joan helped make my transition from newspapers to books enjoyable. Her editing and organizational skills are reflected throughout these pages.
Many thanks to Major Sam Pennica of the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Department. His assistance and professionalism were truly valuable.
Among my friends I especially thank Patti Kogan, Harvey and Anne Oliver, and Dougald and Tori MacMillan for their love and support.
Special thanks to my husband, Michael, and my sister, Maria, who gave me love and encouragement from afar. Both were serving in Iraq while I was writing much of this book.
Finally, I thank my parents, Sam and Pat, whose forty-plus years of love for each other was the greatest gift to their children. Their lives confirm that love, commitment, and the Army can go together quite nicely.
UNDER THE SABERS: THE UNWRITTEN CODE OF ARMY WIVES. Copyright @ 2006 by Tanya Biank. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews. For information, address St. Martin’s Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010.
www.stmartins.com
eISBN 9781429901680
First eBook Edition : May 2011
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Biank, Tanya.
Under the Sabers : The Unwritten Code of Army Wives
p. cm.
ISBN 0-312-33350-1
EAN 978-0-312-33350-8
1. United States. Army—Military life. 2. Army spouses—North Carolina-Fayetteville. 3. Fort Bragg (N.C.)—Social life and customs. 4. War casualties—United States—Psychological aspects. 5. Murder—Case studies. I. Title.
U766.B53 2006
355. 1’086’5509756373—dc22
2005050404
First Edition: February 2006