Fort Hood may be thousands of miles away from New York State, but on Thursday it was very close to home as many people here in Western New York worried about their relatives living in Fort Hood, Texas. Louise Stiegler in Elma thought the worst when she heard the news of the shooting at Fort Hood. Her uncle, Major Jeff Strauss, is stationed there where he lives with his wife and two kids. He's currently serving in Iraq, but his family lives next to the base. "We were praying that nothing had happened to our family," Stiegler said. "We were frightened because my aunt... their house is up against Fort Hood. We didn't know what was going on if she was ok, if she was hurt, what was with our cousins if they were ok."
After many calls they finally got through to her Aunt Nichole and found out the family was fine, but had been through a lot. "About two hours before this hit national news my uncle called her from Iraq... told her to lock down, close all the blinds, put on the security system," Stiegler said. "My mom finally contacted her and we were all in tears... relief to hear her voice."
In North Boston another family closely watched updates about the shooting on the news. The Schaus family has a son in the army, Sergeant Ben Schaus. He's now a recruiter in Pittsburgh, PA but was stationed at Fort Hood several years ago before he went to Iraq and was badly injured there. His parents say they're all too familiar with what the families must be going through with this latest tragedy. "Thank god he is where he is right now," Cindy Schaus, the mother of Sergeant Ben Schaus, said. "You think of the families, the phone calls, the waiting and watching every bit of news that you can get your hands on. Just to have it happen before they're deployed, what sense does that make? You're set for them to go in the military and all those thoughts that go through your head, but for it to happen at a base where you think they're safe... when you figure they'll be coming home for supper and you can prolong that last good bye, it's just my heart goes out to them."
"Here my uncle is fighting for our country in Iraq, and his wife and the families of these other Fort Hood soldiers are being attacked here at home by their own army," Stiegler said. "It's just sad, the whole situation is sad and I'm praying for the families."
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