LUCKY SEVERSON: This is a story about National Guard sergeant Leana Nishimura, a divorced mother who left her three kids when she was called to serve in Iraq. She is one of thousands of single moms who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan [and] who with their families have made huge sacrifices.
Sergeant LEANA NISHIMURA (Maryland National Guard): Being separated from them and having to trust God, to trust other people to take care of my kids was a big thing for me.
SEVERSON: In the military, being a parent is not a valid reason for not serving in a war. But Colonel William Sean Lee, a National Guard chaplain, says Leana wasn’t looking for an excuse.
Chaplain WILLIAM SEAN LEE (Md. National Guard): She wanted to fulfill her obligation and her commitment, and she wasn’t begrudging about it. She made provisions for her children to stay with her mom full well knowing that in going to serve her country she might lose her life and leave here children without a mother. But she made that sacrifice.
SEVERSON: Of the 155,000 women who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan, 16,000 are single mothers. Although they are not assigned to combat duty, they often see action, and some don’t make it home.
Sgt. NISHIMURA: That was my big concern. If something had happened to me, who was going to be there because, you know, the father is out of their lives completely. So it was a scary thought.
SEVERSON: After her tour of duty, Sergeant Nishimura returned home with no job and no place to call home. What was most difficult was that Leana’s kids were still in Hawaii with her mom, and she had no money to bring them back to Maryland.
Chaplain LEE: I saw the anguish that she had emotionally about not being able to be reunited with her children. I heard her story, and at that point I shared with her about Partners in Care.
(Speaking to Officers): Thank you for the chance to talk to you about Partners in Care.
SEVERSON: Chaplain Lee is pressing his superior officers to extend the program he created to help vets in need, and he says there are plenty of them. The program works through local volunteer churches.
Chaplain LEE: Doesn’t matter if it’s Jewish, Protestant, Catholic, Orthodox, Muslim or whatever. But they are faith-based communities full of good-hearted people who, when they hear about our story, want to help.
SEVERSON: The First Christian Church of Havre de Grace, Maryland stepped in with all kinds of support and two very special volunteers -- Paul and Mary Crawford, who helped furnish Leana’s empty apartment and performed dozens of chores and errands.
MARY CRAWFORD (Volunteer, Christian Church of Havre de Grace, Maryland): She was in need of things, and we just -- some of the people in church helped us with some finances, especially at Christmas time. And we had gone out and bought clothing for the children, because all they had was summer clothing.
PAUL CRAWFORD (Volunteer, Christian Church of Havre de Grace, Maryland): Especially when they come out of the Iraq, they need a little help in getting back to civilization.
SEVERSON: She landed a pretty good job full-time as a contract technician at the National Guard facility in Havre de Grace but quickly found herself tormented with nightmares and flashbacks.
Chaplain LEE: The treatment for that, the therapeutic treatment, is helpful. But also she had that comfort of knowing that the faith community was there if she needed them, without obligation. I think that’s helped her in the healing and reintegration process.
Sgt. NISHIMURA: I know that when I was gone, T.J. had a lot of crying fits. He’s the oldest. But that was usually around family. Cheyenne had a lot of crying fits away from the family. The one that it hurt the most, I think, was Dylan, because he did not know how to cry.
Sgt. NISHIMURA: The way they give wholeheartedly. They do for me, and then I have to go and try to do it for other people, because Mary and Paul, they know how they have touched our lives, the lives of me and my children.
