"Silent Heroes"

I saw a terrific production of the play "Silent Heroes" by Linda Baggs (pictured at left) at Sweet Briar College over the weekend. The play, set in 1975, is about the wives of Marine aviators waiting together for their husbands to return from an exercise, knowing that one plane has crashed, but not knowing which. The production was directed by my niece, Virginia Robinson (right), who describes how the play came to be written:

The play is based on a story my father told her about a training accident on board an aircraft carrier: the women found out there head been a crash and gathered back at the base, waiting to find out who had been made a widow.

The women in the play struggle with the meanings of sacrifice -- patriotic and personal -- at a time when political, cultural and social changes divided our country. Virginia describes herself as opposing war but supporting those who serve in uniform. For all of us who struggle with the distinction, this is a play worth seeing.