Moving forward. That’s what the commander of the Madison based 467th Medical Detachment of the Wisconsin National Guard says they’re doing as in the week since the rampage at Fort Hood. Major Laura Suttinger, who lives in Fort Atkinson with her husband and son, witnessed the hail of gunfire which killed three members of her unit. It’s something she can’t give details about, for legal and emotional reasons.
AUDIO: Major Laura Suttinger (1:40 MP3)
“I was at the site where the shooter was,” Suttinger told WIBA. “I’m not sure if I can talk about what I saw. I don’t care to talk about what I saw, but I saw a tremendous amount of terror, simultaneous with heroism.” In addition to Wisconsin soldiers Amy Krueger and Russ Seager, a third member of the 467th from Virginia was killed. “We’ll keep marching forward, united and strong,” said Suttinger. “United and Strong is our motto, it has been from the get-go. Little did we know how important that was going to be to us . . . but we are taking it to heart in honor of those who will not be going with us.”
The 467th remains on active duty, and is set to go to Afghanistan later this month. “Another step forward,” said Suttinger. “Another step towards our goal of fulfilling our mission. The essence of what we do is help others overcome the pressures and the tragedies of combat, and here we are in that same situation ourselves.”
WIBA’s Robin Colbert submitted this report
