The Heart of A Soldier

CHANDLER - It wasn't the decision Toni Pool expected her 17-year-old son to make as he prepared to graduate from Brownsboro High School.

"Two guys came in and told me my son wanted to join the Army. I was like, `Okay. My son is real smart and he needs to go to col- lege.' But he talked us into signing him up at 17."

It came with one condition.

"He could not go into the infantry, " Pool said. "So, he decided on the Military Police. "

Dusty Pool, 20, completed basic training at Fort Leonard Wood in Waynesville, Mo., in 2007 before serving in South Korea for a year. An E4 specialist with the 26th Military Police detachment, he's been at Camp Taji in Iraq since July.

Toni Pool, fighting back tears, said she has mixed feelings about that.

"He's not in as much danger and he's not in Afghanistan, but I am very proud - and scared to death."

She said she's still not sure what compelled her son to enlist.

Pool "I really don't know. He talked about going to the oil field with his daddy."

Whatever his reason for joining the Army, Dusty Pool told his parents he's considering staying in longer than he initially intended.

"He's thought about making it a career," his mother said. "He told me the other day he started classes for an online college. He says he might be a teacher and a coach."

The Military Police officer may not only be torn about his future but also his immediate surroundings.

"Afghanistan is apparently a lot worse than Iraq, and Dusty tells me, `Momma, I'm bored.' He wanted to be demoted down to infantry so he could go to Afghanistan and fight."

But that's not going to happen, Toni Pool said.

"He made me a promise."

Jonathan Daniels, a friend who graduated with Dusty Pool in 2007 and joined the Army at the same time, is in Afghanistan.

Paul Bryant Photo A living tribute to Specialist DustyPool, 20, of the 26th Military Police Detachment rests above a mantel at Mamma Toni's restaurant in Chandler. "Jonathan is a hero," Toni Pool said. "He killed a guy who had eight tons of explosives on his truck and was trying to come through a gate."

Unlike Other Guys

She didn't question her son's commitment to his country.

And while she still might be surprised he enlisted, the kind of man she describes might explain his decision two years ago a little better.

"Dusty is unlike other guys," she said. "He has a huge heart. Anything and everything he's tried to do he's totally succeeded at. Everything he touches turns to gold, and he's a great, big momma's boy."

Toni Pool further described her son as a determined kid who had to try harder in school because of his size.

"He was just so little in high school, so he had to try harder than anybody. He wanted to be one of the best football players, and I think he accomplished that. He played offense, defense, and special teams. That boy never got a break."

And he enjoyed riding horses and drag racing, she said.

"He's very hard-headed and a little crazy like his daddy at times. But if somebody needed help, Dusty would help him."

Toni Pool said she communicates with her son two to three times a week and gives little to no attention to international news.

"I figure the less I know about what's going on over there, the better off I am." Dusty Pool follows a line of military veterans in his family.

His mother's step-grandfather, niece, nephew, uncle, brother-in-law, and fatherin law have or are serving.

He is scheduled to come home in February for a twoand a-half-week break before he returns to Iraq for at least the next five months.

Dusty Pool's father is Carl Wayne Pool. He has two sisters, Crystal, 22, and Kayla, 17.