News Release - Etheridge, Children of Deployed Soldiers Talk About Effects of War

News Release
Congressman Bob Etheridge
North Carolina

April 4, 2003

Contact: Sara Lang
Phone: (202) 225-4531

Etheridge, Children of Deployed Soldiers
Talk About Effects of War

SPRING LAKE, N.C. -- As American troops fight for freedom overseas, U.S. Rep. Bob Etheridge (D-Lillington) talked today to students, administrators and counselors at schools in and around Fort Bragg to understand how the war is affecting the students, the schools and the community.

Etheridge talked to the students, many of whose parents have been deployed overseas, at Holbrook Elementary School at Fort Bragg and Overhills Middle School in Spring Lake about the effects the war has had on their daily lives and the ways that they are coping. Etheridge also met with administrators and counselors at the school to discuss special activities and support offered for these students and their families.

"During this challenging time for the Fort Bragg community and for the American people, it is critically important that we as a community pull together to support the children who have been touched by this war," Etheridge said. "These young Americans are patriots like their parents, and they are making great sacrifices for our country each day. I am proud of the work our schools are doing to support these students and their families, and I want the children to know that Congress, North Carolina and the nation support them."

Etheridge also received briefings at Fort Bragg today on the progress of the war and the situation on base. Etheridge, who represents Fort Bragg, Fayetteville and Harnett County, served in the U.S. Army in the 1960s.