ENOSBURG FALLS, Vt. — For four years, Matt Tracy spent his days pumping gas and repairing car engines at Mark LaRose's Texaco on Main Street. At night, the 33-year-old father of two studied law. He fended off frequent entreaties from military recruiters and held fast to his dream of becoming a litigator.
Then in December, LaRose was called up for active duty, along with the entire National Guard unit in this remote, rural town of 1,473. The deployment of 88 men in Company B, 1st Battalion, 172nd Armor Regiment, 42nd Infantry Division -- better known as Bravo Company -- has touched just about everyone in the area.
For Tracy, it meant his plans to exchange his wrench for an attache case went on hold.
"Right now I am just going to be a well-educated mechanic," he said, his voice devoid of any emotion beyond simple resignation. "There is a point where you just have to accept it. What Mark has to do over there is much worse and much more of a sacrifice than whatever I have to give up here."
Two years into the war, many Americans have become numb to the conflict in Iraq. Though the war is a nightly news event, it is far away and is beyond any individual's control. But in this small Vermont town, the war could not be more personal.
Town meetings now take place without Selectman Brian Westcom, who also is the road commissioner. Chris Beaudry, who works for the state highway department, was not around to clear the roads during an especially snowy winter. Firefighter Shawn Blake is gone along with LaRose, the service station owner who also is the volunteer fire chief.
Dennis Sheridan will not be coaching soccer at the junior high his son Tyler attends, and the school does not know who will replace him. Jimmy Gleason, a school bus driver who also maintained the fleet, is absent. The hunter safety class held twice a year by Eric Chates -- who also works as the mechanic for the Enosburg Armory -- has been canceled.
Each day brings new evidence of the men's absence: Wives attend social functions alone. Children send sports scores by e-mail to fathers who never missed a game until now. Elderly parents arrange rides to doctors' appointments because their sons are not there to drive them.
Businesses are stretched thin. Matt Tracy says his workload at LaRose Texaco has tripled. Tammie Randall, hired strictly to pump gas, keeps the books, handles the payroll and washes the service vehicles.
