Separated By War

Originally broadcast April 8, 2010. Watch The Homecoming to see what happened seven months later.

Tammy Gallagher often refers to herself as a married, single parent of three kids. Her husband, a Marine Staff Sergeant, left this week for Afghanistan. It's his second tour there. Before that, Iraq. LA Times columnist Steve Lopez takes us inside the lives of women like Tammy, who struggle to keep it all together — and keep their worries and fears hidden from their children — when their husbands go off to war.

Also check out Associate Producer Christal Smith's Q&A with Nancy Sherman, an author trained as a philosopher and psychoanalyst. Sherman has written a book analyzing the mentality of a soldier both in combat and at home.

SPECIAL RESOURCES FOR MILITARY FAMILIES:
Focus: Special Services to Help Military Families Cope — Provides a variety of services for children and spouses of those on military deployment.

Operation Love Reunited — An organization that links volunteer photographers, who create visual galleries for families whose loved ones are leaving or returning from deployment.

Operation Hug-A-Hero — Provides children of deployed service men and women with support and a doll of their parent.

When Parents Are Deployed — Sesame Street Workshop special on helping military children cope with separation anxiety hosted by Academy Award-winner Cuba Gooding, Jr.