The news arrived late, but it hit her with a force far greater than the one she felt from an improvised explosive device in Iraq.

Stationed with a transportation company at Fort Hood, Texas, Spc. Roseline Walker was driving off base on Nov. 5 to pick up her daughter when she received a frantic phone call from her sergeant.

“He said, ‘Where are you?’ and I told him I was OK,” Walker said. “He said, ‘Don’t come back on base and I’ll call you later.’ It was about 1:45 p.m.”

It was only after subsequent calls from Walker’s son and mother that the five-year Army veteran learned of the massacre at the Fort Hood Soldier Readiness Center.

Walker, a 1998 Orangeburg-Wilkinson High School graduate, says earlier in the day she gave another soldier a ride to a building near the Readiness Center.

“I’m pretty much on edge now because you wonder what’s coming next. A copycat?” Walker said. “I didn’t know any of the soldiers that were killed but it just made my heart drop.

“We are all brothers in arms. I can’t believe something that senseless happened.”

The revulsion Walker feels is compounded by the fact that she is Muslim, like shooting suspect Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan. She believes the alleged shooter took the name of God in vain to justify his actions.

“Allah tells us to be peaceful,” Walker said. “I have the Allah symbol on my truck and that’s my religion, but I still serve my country.”

“I met a number of Muslim brothers and sisters when I was in Iraq,” she said. “They were good people and helping the military. Something like this makes it bad for me and others.”

Noting the atmosphere on base is one where “everyone is on edge,” Walker says local Muslim leaders near the base have been collaborating with top Army brass to work toward a sense of peace.

“My sergeant told me to talk with the chaplains and the counselors if I need to,” Walker said. “They don’t want anyone to do anything crazy.

“We’re still on edge but it’s comforting when someone says ‘I am willing to listen to you no matter how long it takes.’”

Walker’s first sergeant chose her to sit in the VIP section at Tuesday’s memorial service. She said seeing President Barack Obama gave her goose bumps.

“But you didn’t want to see him in a situation like this because you don’t know whether to cry or do flips. It was a humbling experience but I hate that it had to come from this tragedy,” Walker said.

Walker says she felt badly for the soldiers who were preparing for deployment in Iraq and Afghanistan.

“They had to deal with this and they still have to go overseas,” Walker said. “I had two comrades killed in Iraq. I’ve heard Taps before, but it’s different now in the military.

“I won’t tell anyone they need to experience that but you have to be a soldier to understand.”

Walker’s parents are James P. Walker and Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Stroman of Orangeburg.

T&D Staff Writer Phil Sarata can be reached by e-mail at psarata@timesanddemocrat.com or by phone at 803-533-5540. Discuss this and other stories online at TheTandD.com.

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