socialmedian: Grief in Fort Hood after bitter betrayal of mass shooting

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Grief in Fort Hood after bitter betrayal of mass shooting

Source: The Guardian

Nov 08, 2009

Summary

America's biggest military base is a tight-knit community. In the aftermath of mass murder by an army psychiatrist, many feel the horror and trauma of war has invaded their homes. Paul Harris reports from Fort Hood, Texas

Private Marquest Smith thought the first sounds of gunfire sounded like popcorn being cooked. It was only when people started to scream that he realised what was going on.

Smith, 21, had been processing routine paperwork at the Soldier Readiness Centre in Fort Hood, Texas, the biggest military base in America. Smith, a tall, soft-spoken native of nearby Fort Worth, dived to the floor, grabbing the woman in the cubicle opposite him to shield her from harm.

As bullets flew he then got up and shepherded people in and out of the building while the bodies piled up. He thought it was a dream. War was something that happened overseas, not in a military base that seems more like a small city than an armed camp. He described his thoughts to the Observer. "I thought: 'Are you serious? Is this really happening?'"

It was happening. By the time Smith's fello

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