Montrose - Daily Press

MONTROSE - She is the picture of a stylish salon owner, nearly always dressed in professional black. Weekdays, she schedules clients from morning until night at Studio 10-11 where she's a partner in the business. Weekends are spent in the garden, coaxing plants from the reluctant clay soil of her Montrose home.

Whether chatting on the cell phone with her daughter or laughing with friends, Nancy Turley is one of those people who seems to know just about everyone.

It's easy to miss the fear that has taken over her world - so long as you don't look in her eyes.

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While the subject of war is a constant presence, it is peace that comes to mind when Turley thinks of her son Isaac Toomer, now serving in Iraq.

"Isaac was a happy baby," she said. "Always cheerful - at peace. I think I just got lucky."

Now that her boy is 22, Turley could not be prouder.

"His athletic ability is amazing," Turley said. "He can do anything. Run, shoot, tumble, flip - anything he wants to do. And his kindness. He never has been ashamed of me, even when he was in high school - the age when kids are ashamed of their parents, and don't want their moms to drop them off at school."

Issac is also close to his younger sister Amber, 21.

"I know now the things they used to do to beat each other up when I wasn't home," she laughed. "But they were so close. They would go to school dances and dance with each other! Nobody could bother his little sister."

Although initially "dead-set" against joining the military, Toomer chose to enlist in December of 2001 after the tragic events of Sept. 11.

"He didn't know what he wanted to go to college for," Turley said. "His intention was to work, and save money to go next year."

Sept. 11, 2001, changed the young man's mind.

"He didn't want the military regimen, or to have to cut his hair," Turley laughed. "But some of his friends had enlisted, and he did too."

Today, Toomer is fighting in Iraq with the 3rd Armored Division, and is scheduled to serve until January of 2006. However, with stop-loss policies implemented by the Army to prevent the loss of personnel, the date of his actual release remains uncertain.

"Nobody is getting out while we're over there," Turley said, tears suddenly filling her eyes. "They are just trying to stay alive. A friend of Issac's, a guy my daughter used to date, got his leg blown up. But he's alive, and he'll be coming home."

Sending care packages and letters to Iraq, maintaining contact with her son whenever possible, reading as much as possible about the war, and praying for Toomer's safe return have become constant preoccupations for his mother.

While she does not know mothers of other local military personnel, Turley is in touch with parents of other soldiers in her son's unit. Yet with Americans largely going about their daily business as casualties mount, the long-time Montrose resident feels a growing sense of isolation.

Small turnout at a recent non-partisan memorial for those who have died so far in Iraq was especially disheartening.

"There were probably 20 people at the (Remembering Lives Lost traveling war) memorial," Turley said. "But something like 1,748 people have died.

"It's something nobody wants to touch on," she added. "Nobody wants to see you cry, because it makes them uncomfortable."

For a while, Turley displayed a sign in the window of her business stating, "Support our Troops - Bring them Home."

The sign generated a letter of criticism from an anonymous source, she said, but it remained in place until a rainstorm caused the letters to run.

"I tied a yellow ribbon ceremoniously around a pole before I took it down," she said.

Nancy's fears for her son are made worse by an increasing sense of disillusionment with the war itself.

"I know most people don't agree with me," she said. "Everybody just thinks I am wacko. I have never changed my position when it comes to supporting our troops. But I have changed on my position on why we are there. At first, I truly believed that we would find weapons of mass destruction and Osama Bin Laden. I thought it had nothing to do with oil.

"But I don't think we should be there anymore. I believe we attacked for the wrong reasons."

Toomer is scheduled to come home for a visit in August. Once he is released from the service, he has big plans for the rest of his life, his mother said.

"He has lots that he wants to do," she said. "Go to college, play sports. But he knows what a good chance there is that he won't come back."

Despite the constant presence of death, the patriotic instinct that drove her son to enlist has not disappeared, Toomer's mother said.

"He actually feels guilty when he is home," she said. "He worries for his friends."

Comments

marqthompson wrote on Feb 1, 2010 3:21 AM:

" This is a wonderful article. The things given are unanimous and needs to be appreciated by everyone.
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marqthompson
Noosa real estate "




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Kaitlyn Heichel wrote on Nov 3, 2009 2:01 PM:

" My dad was Robert Heichel and i just wanted to thank again everyone that helped looked for him. It was over 3 years ago that he died, but i will never forget him. I think about him still every single day and life without him is so hard. Thank you everyone who spent time looking for him. I wish this could have been a happy ending but life isn't fair. My dad died when i was 12 and i am now almost 16. Thank you again for everything you guys have done. Your amazing. "




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Sarah Bond wrote on Jul 13, 2009 5:31 PM:

" It really makes me sick that people lie about certain events to make themselves look better than they really are... Just to set the record straight, one of those stories is extremely false. Email me if you want the real story from the person who was actually there. "




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