MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
After two West Virginia National Guard members were shot while on patrol in Washington, D.C., some in West Virginia are questioning the entire deployment. Army Specialist Sarah Beckstrom was killed. Air Force staff - sorry. Air Force Staff Sergeant Andrew Wolfe remains in critical condition. NPR's Scott Neuman reports from their hometowns.
SCOTT NEUMAN, BYLINE: On most weekday mornings at Vickie's Restaurant in Webster Springs, the town of about 800 where Army Specialist Sarah Beckstrom grew up, you'll find school bus driver Kenny Kidd. For many years, he was Beckstrom's ride to school.
KENNY KIDD: She was a great kid. Always had a smile on her face, always willing to help, and always liked to give me a rough time (laughter).
NEUMAN: Kidd's heard the reports that the West Virginia Guard is spending most of its time doing landscaping and picking up trash in Washington, D.C., rather than restoring order.
KIDD: They're not doing their job up there.
NEUMAN: West Virginia is a deeply red state, but it's not hard to find people who agree with Kidd. On a freezing morning, Roseanna Groves is waiting for the Quarter Store to open. It's a used clothing store where everything costs a quarter.
(SOUNDBITE OF DOOR SQUEAKING)
NEUMAN: Groves is related by marriage to the Beckstroms. She also doesn't understand the point of the West Virginia Guard being in D.C.
ROSEANNA GROVES: I feel it was crazy, I really do, that they sent them there.
NEUMAN: Republican Governor Patrick Morrisey is defending his decision to send guard troops to Washington, D.C., at the request of the Trump administration. The deployment is voluntary. Democratic lawmakers in the state have sharply criticized Morrisey for signing off on it, and several newspaper op-eds have echoed that sentiment. NPR reached out to the governor's office for comment but did not receive a response by airtime. But the governor's media representatives have denied reports that the guard was being used for cleanup work.
(SOUNDBITE OF RAILROAD CROSSING BELLS)
NEUMAN: About 4 1/2 hours north along winding mountain roads is Martinsburg, West Virginia, where Air Force Staff Sergeant Andrew Wolfe is from. Berkeley County Commissioner John Hardy is one of many in the community who showed up for a prayer vigil on his behalf. Hardy says there are always questions when people are put in harm's way.
JOHN HARDY: There was a mission to be done. That mission was being done. And unfortunately, this is just something that - a senseless act that happened.
NEUMAN: As people try to understand this senseless act, they hope and pray that Staff Sergeant Wolfe will make it home.
Scott Neuman, NPR News, Martinsburg, West Virginia.
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC) Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.