Transcript for the Piece Audio version of Sisters from Las Vegas serving in the Iraq War

REPORTER TRAX & ACTS:

?All they can do is pray,? says the McLendon family. Carol, Misty, and Lexee are trusting in God to bring their loved daughter and sister home safely from Iraq. D?Ambe McLendon who is 21 years old is an Army Reservist and is getting ready for her deployment to Iraq. When D?Ambe enlisted in the Reserves she was just following in her big sister Misty?s footsteps.

ACT: M.McLendon
In Cue: I talked her into?
Out Cue: To get deployed:

Misty, who is 23 years old has been in the Army Reserves for 6 years and has been deployed twice to Kuwait to assist in Operation Iraqi Freedom. Misty initially joined the Reserves to help her pay for college.

ACT: M.McLendon
In Cue: I thought that ?
Out Cue: Put off to the side:

When Carol heard the news about her first daughter going to Kuwait, she took it hard.

ACT: C.McLendon
In Cue: Misty called me ?
Out Cue: I couldn?t believe:

This time around Carol is staying optimistic as her second daughter D?Ambe gets ready to leave for Iraq. Lexee, the youngest daughter shares the same attitude as her mother. She just wishes that she could spend more time with her sisters.

ACT: L.McLendon
In Cue: Misty came home?
Out Cue: And that?s it:

While Misty was in Kuwait, she was homesick.

ACT: M.McLendon
In Cue: I miss my family ?
Out Cue: It was my family:

It is normal for soldiers to miss their families. Families also struggle with the separation.
Shelley MacDermid directs the Military Family Research Institue at Purdue University. She offers advice for keeping the family unit while their loved ones are in combat.

ACT: MacDermid
In Cue: You shouldn?t let?
Out Cue: Right down to it :

Misty is sitting in her living room and says that she is concerned about her little sister, D?Ambe.

ACT: M.McLendon
In Cue: That?s my little sister ?
Out Cue: I get scared.

However, their mother, Carol is not troubled.

ACT: C.McLendon
In Cue: I pray too much ?
Out Cue: Pray for something.

Carol has some ideas for how other military families that can help their loved ones serving overseas.

ACT: C.McLendon
In Cue: Support your children ?
Out Cue: Whatever necessary.

Despite the increase in US soldiers? death tolls, the McLendon family is relying on their faith to get them through this hard time.

OUT: FOR NEXT GENERATION RADIO, I?M ANNA HART IN LAS VEGAS.