Barb Maglaqui and MaCherie Dunbar
Tech Sgt. MaCherie Dunbar was deployed twice to Iraq in 2007-2008. At StoryCorps, MaCherie told her then-girlfriend, Barb Maglaqui, about one of the hardest things she had to do while overseas.
Where are they now?
MaCherie retired from the Air Force in 2014 and went on to earn her BA in Communications from the University of Alaska Fairbanks. Public about her own struggle with combat-related Post-Traumatic-Stress Disorder (PTSD), MaCherie has become a fierce advocate for veterans, especially around issues of healthcare.
Photo: Barb Maglaqui (left) and retired Tech Sgt. MaCherie Dunbar at their StoryCorps interview in Fairbanks, AK. Photo by Daniel Sitts for StoryCorps.
Originally aired May 23, 2014, on NPR’s Morning Edition.
Suzanne Bishop and LJ Evans
On March 24, 1989, the Exxon Valdez ran aground off the coast of Alaska, spilling 11 million gallons of oil into Prince William Sound.
The impact on wildlife was devastating—hundreds of thousands of marine animals died. Clean-up crews poured into the nearby port town, also called Valdez, where the first animal rescue center was established.
LJ Evans (right), who lived in Valdez, volunteered at the rescue center, where she met Suzanne Bishop (left).
They sat down for StoryCorps to remember the days following the spill.
Originally aired March 21, 2014, on NPR’s Morning Edition