Area soldiers’ kin relieved knowing loved ones are OK

NASHUA – The relief is almost palpable.

The families of Nashua area soldiers stationed at Fort Hood, Texas, are feeling relieved, and sympathetic, after spending a draining and stressful Thursday wondering if their loved ones were safe.

An Army psychiatrist, Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, is accused of opening fire at the massive military base near Dallas, killing 13 people and injuring 30. Hasan, 39, is among the injured and is hospitalized in a coma.

Brookline native Justin Adams, a 22-year-old U.S Army Specialist, is among those stationed at Fort Hood.

Madeleine Charland, of Milford, Adams’ grandmother, didn’t know about what was going on until she got a call from her sister-in-law yesterday, telling her to get to a TV.

“Of course, my heart went to my feet,” Charland said, about her feelings as soon as she heard about the attack.

Charland immediately called her daughter, Lisa Adams. Charland said her daughter told her that she had heard from her son. He told his mother he was fine and the base was in lockdown, Charland said.

“I remember that my daughter said that when he got back to the base and saw all the ambulances, he knew something terrible had happened. It was hard to believe he wasn’t in Iraq,” Charland said.

Adams had been deployed to Iraq in June 2008 and returned to New Hampshire this summer to visit with family. He then returned to Fort Hood.

It turns out that Adams was just off base in Copperas Cove, Texas, when the shooting started.

He was immediately called back so everyone could be accounted for, Charland said. Adams wasn’t told what happened when he got back to the base but later learned that the shooter had survived after speaking with members of the SWAT team, Charland said.

Charland said her grandson’s wife, Sheri Adams, and 11-month-old daughter Alana were in New Hampshire yesterday. Adams is expected home for Thanksgiving, Charland said.

“It’s terrible,” she said. “We’re just so thankful to God he’s safe.”

Donna Ladd’s son, Command Sgt. Maj. Peter Joseph Ladd, is stationed at Fort Hood and lives nearby in Belton, Texas, with his wife, Bonnie, and their two sons, Christian and Shane, according to his biography on the 720th Military Police Battalion Web site.

“It was a long afternoon,” said Donna Ladd, a Nashua resident.

Peter Joseph Ladd, 38, is the commander of the 728th MP Division. He signed up for the Army when he was 17, Donna Ladd said.

Her husband, Peter Ladd, called her around 3 p.m. Thursday to warn her about what had happened. That’s when she turned on the television.

“Of course I went crazy when I saw it,” Donna Ladd said. “I was hysterical, like, where is my kid?”

The panic, luckily, didn’t last very long. Peter Joseph Ladd sent his father a text indicating that he was safe around 5 p.m. He was able to call his parents around 1 a.m., Donna Ladd said, though he was not able to relate any information about what happened. “We’re all obviously feeling terrible but feeling relieved at the same time. Everything is good, so we’re all good now. Sad, but good.”

Peter Joseph Ladd has been deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan. He has also served in Panama, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba and at Camp Humphries, Korea. He participated in Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom, according to a biography on the 720th Military Police Battalion Web site.

He has been awarded the Bronze Star, the Meritorious Service Medal, the Army Commendation Medal, the Army Achievement Medal, the Army Good Conduct Medal and the National Defense Service Medal among many others, according to the biography.

Donna Ladd’s father and two brothers were also in the military. One of those brothers served two tours in Vietnam. She also has one nephew in the Air Force and another in the Army serving in Iraq. The stress of family members in danger is nothing new for the Ladds. “We’re very proud of every one of them. It’s very hard to talk about him,” Donna Ladd said. “As long as everybody keeps them in their hearts and prayers, that’s what counts.”

The families of the soldiers who died are also very much in Donna Ladd’s thoughts this weekend.

“It’s very scary and sad at the same time. Really sad,” she said. “We all are family. We’re all military families.”

Investigators are still trying to piece together how and why Hasan allegedly gunned down his comrades in one of the worst mass shootings ever on an American military base. Though his motive wasn’t known, some who knew Hasan said he may have been struggling with a pending deployment to Afghanistan and faced pressure in his work with distressed soldiers.

The shooting spree began as some 300 soldiers had been lined up to get vaccinations and have their eyes tested at a Soldier Readiness Center, where troops who are about to be deployed or who are returning undergo medical screening. Nearby, others were lining up in commencement robes for a ceremony to celebrate soldiers and families who had recently earned degrees.

Soldiers reported that the gunman shouted “Allahu Akbar!” – Arabic for “God is great!” – before opening fire, said Lt. Gen. Robert Cone, the base commander. He said officials had not confirmed that Hasan made the comment.

Officials are not ruling out the possibility that some of the casualties may have been victims of “friendly fire,” shot by responding military officials.

When the gunfire subsided, soldiers described a scene that looked like a war zone: too many wounded to count, shells and blood on the floor, and comrades ripping off their clothes to make tourniquets to keep the injured alive. One woman, suffering from a wound to the hip, carried another victim to get help.

The gunman was struck four times by a civilian police officer who was wounded herself. Base officials said Kimberly Munley fired on the suspect just three minutes after the gunfire erupted and that her efforts ended the crisis. Munley was recovering Friday at a hospital.

A moment of silence was held Friday afternoon at Fort Hood and other U.S. military bases as a show of respect for the victims. Army Chief of Staff George Casey said about 20 different units were affected by the shooting.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this story. Joseph G. Cote can be reached at 594-6415 or jcote@nasuatelegraph.com. Michael Brindley can be reached at 594-6426 or mbrindley@nashuatelegraph.com.