The War at Home: Maryland and the Iraq War

In March 2009, for the sixth anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Iraq, Maryland Morning talked to four Marylanders about the effects of the invasion. These are their stories.

Retired Spc. Lawrence Towles stands next to a 1989 GMC Suburban he's been retrofitting with parts from old Army vehicles.

Honorably Discharged…into a Recession
Lawrence Towles, a 23-year-old Iraq veteran from the eastern shore, started applying for jobs after receiving an honorable discharge from the Army last August. The former Army specialist says he has yet to hear back from anyone. Towles’ wife is due to have their first baby this summer, and he hopes that he’ll land a job as a prison guard by then and can move out of his in-laws’ Deal Island home.

From Baghdad to Baltimore
Sawsan is an Iraqi pharmacist who began doing humanitarian work in her country right after the start of the war; she said she was inspired by the potential she saw to make a positive impact. That work, though, made her life in the country dangerous.

 

Cpl. Dale Allan Burger, Jr. in Iraq, Fall 2004

Corporal Dale Allan Burger, Jr.
Martina Burger remembers her son, Corporal Dale Allan Burger, Jr.

A View from Afar
In this segment, we take a step back from stories of Marylanders personally affected by the invasion of Iraq and look at the impact of the conflict on the region. Dr. Gilbert Burnham is co-director of the Center for Refugee and Disaster Response at Johns Hopkins.