Home fires burning : married to the military, for better or worse / Karen Houppert.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Widowmakers : when Casualty Affairs comes calling -- Military wife : a day in the life -- Cocktails, cleaning, and the Cold War : coming of age in this man's army -- All that you can be : young, poor, and alone -- Rules of engagement : domestic violence in the military -- Love triangle : you, me, and Uncle Sam -- Walking wounded : when the battle-scarred come home -- Peace on post : against the war, but married to it.

The waiting wives of military overseas endure a long, lonely, and difficult time with their husbands far from home. Houppert, a prizewinning journalist, spent a year among these women, and shows how they make some of the same sacrifices of their personal liberties as their husbands do, yet garner little of the respect accorded their spouses.