Laura Gilmore Article (TX)

[rainbowgirl28]

http://www.amarillo.com/stories/050905/ ... 4970.shtml

This victory's for you, Dad


Canyon senior Gilmore excels in pole vaulting while father is in Iraq

By Mike Lee
michael.lee@amarillo.com




Surprise Qualifier: Canyon senior Laura Gilmore was within one missed pole-vault attempt from elimination at the Region I-3A track meet, but she succeeded on her final attempt at 9 feet, 6 inches, then cleared 10-0 to win the regional championship. She will compete in the state meet Friday in Austin.
Michael Lemmons / michael.lemmons@amarillo.com


Serving His Country: Bill Gilmore, father of Canyon senior pole vaulter Laura Gilmore, is flying helicopters in Iraq for the U.S. Army Reserves and is expected to serve until February.
Courtesy Photo



Laura Gilmore missed her dad when she sent out graduation announcements.
She misses Bill Gilmore most when she pole vaults at track and field meets.

"He was always there for me last year, and it was my first year to vault," said Laura, a senior at Canyon High School.

"He took me to a vaulting camp last summer down in Lubbock. It was a three-day camp, and I was ready to give up for sure. They had us do a bunch of drills for pole vaulters that I wasn't used to. I was tired and sore and ready to come home."

The long days of vaulting lasted from 9 a.m. until 6 p.m. Then after a break, there were meetings until 10 at night. "It was mentally and physically exhausting," Laura said, "and it was during the heat of the summer."

The camp was run by Don Hood, the former Abilene Christian coach and one of the world's foremost authorities on pole vault training techniques. Hood, who has coached two Olympians, is successful because he is demanding.

"He pushed everybody hard," Laura said of Hood. "He knows what to look for and how to fix it. But he doesn't always tell you in the way you want to hear it. He yells it at you."

Bill Gilmore, who flew helicopters for the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War, wouldn't let his daughter quit.

"When Laura was ready to put the poles in the back of the truck and come home, Bill was pulling them out," said Mary Gilmore, Bill's wife and Laura's mom. "He wanted her to endure the pain. He wanted her to have character and know that she could endure something that was tough."

Bill didn't know the toughest thing his daughter would have to endure during her senior year would be his absence. In August 2004, CW4 William Gilmore was called up from the U.S. Army Reserves into active duty. The 57-year-old Gilmore left his job as a veterinarian pathologist at Texas A&M Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory in Amarillo to receive training to fly Apache helicopters in the aftermath of the Iraq War.

"I was surprised," Laura said. "He never said anything to me that it (being called up) was a possibility. I'm not sure what he thought."

Mary said Bill knew it was a possibility, especially when his friends and other pilots from Fort Hood had already been sent to Iraq.

After training and a brief visit back home, Bill left for his 18-month tour of duty on Laura's second day of school. He's not expected to return until Feb. 13, 2006.

During the drive to the airport, Laura wondered of all the dads across the country, why hers had to miss her senior year.

Why did her dad have to miss her acceptance into the nuclear engineering program at Texas A&M?

Why did her dad have to miss her prom and graduation?

Why did her dad have to miss her winning the regional championship and qualifying for state in the pole vault?

"On the drive to the airport, he explained why he was needed," Laura said. "He gave three reasons, but I remember one. He said, 'Because of what I can do, I can help other people. By going over there, I'll be able to help them.'

"That was very characteristic of my dad."

Somehow the message got through to 18-year-old Laura that her dad was answering a higher calling. His experience would provide leadership for other U.S. troops, and his flying skill would provide safety for the Iraqi people.

"What he said helped me see the bigger picture," Laura said. "The war wasn't affecting just my family, but so many others, too."

Laura returned to school with a fresh perspective. At 10 o'clock each morning, when Canyon High students join together for The Pledge of Allegiance and a moment of silence, Laura thinks of her dad. She prays for his health and happiness.

"You'd never know what's going on by the way she goes about her business at school," said Brittney Lanehart, Laura's track coach. "She told me about her dad once, and that's been about it. I'll ask on occasion, and she'll report on where her dad is or what they've heard lately."

At home, Laura inherited many of Bill's chores in the family's small cattle and farming operation. She feeds and waters cows, rides the tractor, hauls hay and helped plant winter wheat.

When she needed it, she leaned on Mary. Her mother leaned back.

"I have a lot of respect for Laura for what she's been able to accomplish in a short while," Mary said. "I think she has high standards for herself in academics and athletics. She has exceeded what I set for her by quite a bit - I can tell by the friends she chooses and the decisions she makes.

"She's a good role model for me."

Staying busy at school and home helps Laura cope, but it can't ease her mind when she hears news of a helicopter being shot down in Iraq.

"You think, 'Oh my goodness, I wonder how he is?' " Laura said. "Usually, we can get some more facts and figure out that it happened in a different part of Iraq than where he is.

"He flew in Vietnam, so I have a lot of faith that he knows what he's doing and that he will take care of himself."

Sometimes, though, the Gilmores have to wait for an e-mail or the weekly Sunday telephone call to be absolutely sure Bill is safe. The anticipated phone calls come around 11 a.m. each Sunday and are limited to 20 minutes. The Gilmores - Mary, Laura and seventh-grade daughter Caitlin - anxiously pass around the phone.

"I usually have a couple of things I want to be sure and tell him every week. But most of the time, we want to know what he's up to," Laura said.

Bill, who sometimes has to wait more than an hour for his turn at the phone, also can exchange e-mail with his family. The family also sends him newspaper clippings, photos and magazines from home.

As well as Laura appears to be handling her dad's absence, she occasionally gets caught off guard. During last week's regional track meet in Odessa, the dad of another vaulter - a veterinarian colleague of Bill's - innocently asked Laura where her dad was.

He was in Iraq, but his spirit may have been with Laura at the Region I-3A meet. Down to her final attempt at 9 feet, 6 inches, Laura would have failed to place among the top six with another miss.

She sailed over the bar with her best vault of the day. Then, with eight vaulters vying for two state-meet berths, Laura was the first and only to clear 10-0. It not only was a personal best jump, it gave her the regional championship and a chance to vault at state Friday in Austin.

"I can probably cope with something like that (elimination in the pole vault) better than the other girls," Laura said. "Some were crying when they went out. But with my dad's situation, I can shake things off. I guess I have a different perspective."

The day after her shocking win at regional - she was seeded ninth entering the meet - Laura got to tell her dad during the weekly phone call.

"He was proud," Mary said, "but in a little bit of disbelief that she had made it that far in such a short time. This is only her second year to vault.

"I haven't asked her about it (winning regional), but I almost think she did it for her dad. At some level, I think she was trying to do something for him to where he would appreciate her."

The next major events Bill will miss are his daughter's graduation and departure for college. Not anxious to leave her mom and younger sister home alone, Laura considered staying closer to home and attending Texas Tech or West Texas A&M until her dad returns.

Mary wouldn't hear of it.

"I told her that she couldn't make decisions based on what we were doing here or when Bill would get home," Laura said. "She needs to spread her wings. I'm excited for her to be able to go to Texas A&M.

"I think when she gets down there and starts enjoying college, it will ease some of her pain."