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Base shooting emotional for parents, soldiers
Published November 7, 2009
ANGLETON — A random call to go to another area on Fort Hood pulled Angleton soldier Sgt. Michael Easterling away from where officials say an Army officer opened fire and killed 13 people.
“He was supposed to have been in that area where the shooting happened,” said his mother, Jean Easterling. “They sent him to the other side of the base.”
Michael Easterling, 27, an Angleton High School grad, is a computer expert for the Army and was called from the area near the Soldier Readiness Center because he was needed elsewhere on the massive Central Texas base Thursday. He is set to go on a second tour in Iraq in December, his mother said.
The Soldier Readiness Center helps process soldiers before deployments to Iraq or Afghanistan. Officials said Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, a psychiatrist, opened fire on a group of people who were waiting to get eye exams and vaccinations.
Several Brazoria County residents said Friday they were sad and angry soldiers have survived war in Afghanistan and Iraq only to face violence on a U.S. military base.
Army Spc. Jason Arrants watched the events unfold on the news Thursday at his parents’ house in Lake Jackson. He is scheduled to deploy to Afghanistan next summer and knows a lot of fellow soldiers at Ford Hood.
The incident infuriates him, he said.
“We come home and expect to be safe,” said Arrants, a Brazoswood High School grad.
As news broke about the incident, Jean Easterling said she worried frantically about her son. Relief washed over her when he finally called Thursday night.
“He just told me he was safe and not to worry,” she said.
After a few minutes of conversation, Michael told her he needed to get off the phone, she said. Jean Easterling said she hoped to hear from him Friday night.
“They said one of his roommates is still missing,” she said.
Jean Easterling said she spent most of her day Thursday and Friday “saying little prayers” for those on the base and their loved ones.
Kevin Sprague had a similarly brief phone call Thursday afternoon with his son, Andrew Sprague, an armory mechanic stationed at Fort Hood. Lake Jackson native Andrew Sprague was at the depot when the shooting happened, his father said.
“The armory depot is about 2 miles from that area,” Kevin Sprague said.
The call was a relief, but Kevin Sprague said, “We really didn’t get a chance to talk to him.”
The last time Sweeny resident Gayle Horn visited Fort Hood, in February, it was to welcome home soldiers with a smiling face as they returned from Iraq or Afghanistan.
Horn sat amid the massive tents, decorated tables, food and an area set up for children to watch movies or play games — all to thank the soldiers for their service.
But her memories of the base now are tainted, she said.
“It’s like somebody coming into your house and robbing you,” Horn said. “I feel violated. They have robbed the thought it was safe.”
For Debra Anderson, Fort Hood is her son’s first duty station as a soldier. Spc. Craig Anderson has served in Iraq and since has been stationed at Fort Carson in Colorado. She’s been to Fort Hood many times both to visit her son and as founder of West of the Brazos Military Troop Support.
“He’s left a lot of friends there,” Anderson said of her son. “We’re hoping they’re all OK.”
Information from The Associated Press was used for this report.
John Tompkins is senior reporter for The Facts. Contact him at 979-849-8581.
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