I am always struck by the nestled pockets of the country where the effects of the war are felt day in and out.  Sometimes it’s in a small town that has buried too many of its sons or a city that must comfort scores of children whose parents are sent to war.

I found such a place here at the Red River Army Depot, which refurbishes damaged Humvees and Bradley Fighting Vehicles. Situated near the northern Texas/Arkansas border, the depot is the largest employer in the area. The depot survived a threatening base closure in 1995. But since the war began, the assembly lines are buzzing. Workers constantly feel the pinch to get damaged Humvees and Bradley Fighting Vehicles back to the war zones as fast as possible.  They used to refurbish two Humvees a week; now they move 32 a day. The pressure is ubiquitous. In some parts of the depot, there is a running clock overhead to make sure workers move a Humvee under 15 minutes.

I had a chance to visit the depot during a trip with Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, and I was struck by how many workers have sons and serving in Iraq and Afghanistan, sometimes riding in the very vehicle their parents refurbished.

David May, 50, of Simms, Texas is among them. I met David, a 25-year veteran of the depot, minutes after he gave Gates a tour of the facility. David always wanted to serve in the military, but never thought his son did. That is, until he got a call last year. “Guess where I am?” son Christopher asked David, “The Army recruiting center!”

David told his son, who was studying at Southern Arkansas University to be a teacher, to take a walk and really think about his decision. But Christopher, 20, didn’t hesitate, saying like his father, he wanted to serve his country.

So Christopher joined the 101st Airborne Division and within months, his unit was assigned a Heavy Expanded Mobility Tactical Truck (HEMTT). Inside, on the driver’s door, was a sticker that bore the depot’s motto: “We build it as if our lives depend on it. Theirs do!”

The HEMTT had come off his father’s assembly line, and David quickly checked the records on it to make sure it was in perfect shape.  It was, he assured me. (To your right, I have attached a picture of David with a HEMTT coming off the assembly line. )

“Once you know your son will be operating this equipment, the responsibility for it really hits home,” May said.

So while Christopher trains and waits for his deployment orders, David said he will keep working at the plant and strive to do his job well. The war has become the focal point for both him and his son, he said, day in and out.