Donnelly Answers The Call Of Duty
DONNELLY ANSWERS THE CALL OF DUTY
By Ron Chimelis
Shannon Donnelly is going to Iraq, not as a warrior, but
as a healer.
"I'm a medical person who acts almost as a paramedic, short of administering drugs," says Donnelly, 24, the goalie for the Elms College women's soccer team, and a member of the U.S. Air Force Reserve.
"My job is not to say what's right or wrong with the war. It's to support our wounded personnel."
Donnelly is a resident of Northampton's Florence section, a 2002 Cathedral High graduate and a proud member of a military family.
Shannon's dad, Terrence, served in the Air Force National Guard. Her older brother, Chris, went to Iraq with the Marine Infantry in 2003.
Now, as a healer, it's her time. She left Tuesday.
"My parents weren't entirely against it," the Elms junior said of her decision to join the Reserves on April 30, 2004, knowing the risks a wartime enlistment might bring.
Some things about her assignment, she can't say.
"To my knowledge, the area is very well protected, one of the more
secure over there," she said.
That was not the case with her brother.
"We never really knew where he was," Donnelly said. "We had e-mail contact with him twice.
"He was in a lot of battles you see on The History Channel, but we're still not sure how long he was over there. He doesn't talk about it much."
In some respects, neither does Shannon. She is what you might expect of a collegian in the military: bright, serious, truthful and respectful, but careful with words.
She should make you proud to be an American, whether you agree with the Iraq war or not.
She won't say if she agrees with it or not.
"I try to stay out of political conversations," she said. "There are two sides to every story, especially in war."
Besides, to her, it's not her call. She's a medical person, not a political one.
"I can't be doing CPR on a person and say, this never should have happened," she said. "My job is to give that person the best care."
Donnelly posted a 1.37 goals-against average for Elms, which was
7-9-2 in 2007. She played and studied on a campus which, like all
campuses, is full of people with opinions on the war.
"Everybody has been supportive of her," Elms coach Ryan Kelly said. "But she's a little older, and a lot of her teammates commuted from home, so we pretty much kept it separate from soccer."
Practices and class projects were adjusted to fit her Reserve schedule. The faculty, teammates and students supported Donnelly's commitment, which is not to say they understood it.
She was asked if there was anyone who could serve as a true confidante to a military woman.
"I'm trying to think," she said, coming up empty. "On a personal basis, most people don't relate to this."
"We didn't really talk about it," said Kerrie Bowden, a junior midfielder from Chicopee. "We don't know where she stands on the war, but we support her. She wants to go overseas and help, out of the goodness of her heart."
"I don't believe they understand it, but I believe they did put their best foot forward to relate to it," Donnelly said of her teammates. "My coach was probably one of my No. 1 supporters.
"It's hard. A lot of people oppose the war, but still support the military personnel."
Donnelly's unit will provide 24- to 72-hour care. Her tour is to be four months, but could be extended.
However long it lasts, it will give her practical experience in her chosen field of nursing. After living briefly in Florida, Donnelly chose Elms for its nursing program, and she's anxious to develop her skills.
The increased opportunity to work with live patients cannot help but enhance her already impressive training.
When Donnelly returns, she has one year of soccer eligibility left. Kelly raves about her work ethic and coachability, and the Blazers would love to have her back.
Donnelly says she'll decide when the time comes, though she's leaning toward playing. For now, she is heading to Iraq with no doubt she has chosen what, for her, is the right course.
"Deployment is always part of the military," she said. "I know what the job entails, and I'm educated for it. That's how I look at it."
Ron Chimelis can be reached at rchimelis@repub.com