The town of Bradford, Arkansas sits an hour’s drive north of Little Rock. Its population is only 819 inhabitants. A year and a half ago, Bradford sent its mayor, police chief and eight other men to Iraq. Then their high school librarian was called up by the Air Force Reserve.

Women stepped up to fill the void in the City Hall and the high school. Wives juggled their jobs, their husband’s jobs, and their families. When the men came home, they came back to a different town.

The business that the mayor left behind had faltered in his absence. Big repairs on the town’s water system went untouched. The men too had changed, returning home a bit shakier with bloody photographs and memories of Iraq.

Hear one small town’s transformation story when America goes to war.

Guests:

Cathy Booth-Thomas, Dallas Bureau Chief, TIME Magazine

Paul Bunn, Mayor of Bradford and a staff sergeant in the 39th Infantry Brigade of the Arkansas National Guard

Josh Chambliss, Police Chief of Bradford and a staff sergeant in the 39th Infantry Brigade of the Arkansas National Guard

Judy Gray, retired teacher who volunteered to fill in for Dennis Mannon, the high school librarian, after he was called up by the Air Force Reserve.