who is your hometown hero?
Who is your hero? I met mine in May of 1998. He was fresh from Basic Training and I was coming out of my freshman year at LSU. A series of odd events brought him to my dorm room on the very day I was packing up for the summer. It took one afternoon to convince me that I'd found "the one". I have really great instincts. We were married in September of 2003, had our first baby in September of 2004 during flight school in Fort Rucker, AL. In 2008, he was deployed to Iraq, where he remained for a year (missing the delivery of our third baby and his first 6 months of life-- read more on that here). We recently celebrated the birth of our fifth child- and while he is no longer in the army, he'll always be my hero. 
Even being a former military wife, I'll never fully understand what our hardworking soldiers go through in times of war or separation- or that well of strength deep inside that draws them to military service in the first place. I do, however, understand the network of heroes who are left behind: the husbands and wives and children of those servicemen and women... the ones who didn't necessarily choose a military life- but proudly, humbly, bravely follow their soldiers to lands unknown. So in addition to the amazing men and women who are willing to fight and die for this country, we applaud the lesser-known heroes in trenches of their own: the tired mom who fixes toilets, mows the lawn and remembers to take out the trash... the anxious dad who drives carpool, braids hair and bakes cupcakes for class, the child who puts one foot in front of the other every day- a weary smile on his face. Our military families are the backbone of this country- and we all owe them a tremendous debt of gratitude. Having said that, W.D. Wolf wants to honor a hometown hero with "Hometown Firecracker" outfits for his or her family. So, who is your hero? Leave your nominations here. Please tell us a little bit about your favorite soldier, military spouse or family- and what makes them so very special. We will select and announce the winner this week. Love, Sarah & Shannon
My hometown hero is my husband of four years now. We met in high school but never dated until he came home from his first deployment in 2006. We now have a beautiful little girl who just turned 2. He is a great father and husband anyone could ever ask for. he still serves our country today state side. To all those hometown heroes and their families Thank You!
I met Heidi through our love for beautiful little girl clothes. Heidi, for most of many years now, has been raising her two littles alone as her husband has been back and forth to Iraq to protect our country. Heidi is mom, dad, and everything in between. In her “spare” time (haha) she also designs, sews, and sells beautiful creations for little girls to help support her family. I met her through a mutual friend who was promoting her work. I have bought several pieces from her, both because her work is GORGEOUS and because I know I’m supporting a military wife and family. Heidi has incredible strength and courage and every day I dare to live with the spirit she possesses. This July will be the first of many that her whole family will be together and I think it would be amazing and wonderful if she got a “day off” from sewing and was blessed to receive this gorgeous dress. Both to celebrate the wonderful country we live in and celebrate WITH the wonderful man who serves it!
I love this!! I also love ALL who give so freely to our nation!! Thank you WDW for seeing true humility and honoring it!
I would like to nominate my sister and brother-in-law. They were high school sweethearts and have been married 10 years with 3 beautiful children. Last April, my then 3 year old son was diagnosed with hepatoblastoma, a rare childhood liver cancer. This diagnosis obviously devastated our whole family. Following chemo, my son ended up with a liver transplant and we’ve been on our journey for 9 long months. During that time my sister and my brother-in-law stood by our side. Even though for most of the time we’ve known each other, we didn’t get along, my brother-in-law adores my son, and he is his Godfather. I’ve never seen my brother-in-law scared, but I saw it the day he walked into the PICU and saw my son bright yellow from the jaundice and on a breathing machine. See, my brother-in-law is a former Army Ranger who served in Iraq & Afghanistan and he’s seen A LOT. He’s one of the strongest people I know. This past Christmas, my brother-in-law wrote a very touching, heartfelt, emotional letter to my now 4 year old son and handed down his Army Ranger beret. Next to receiving the gift of his liver, that gesture by my brother-in-law has been the most touching gift we’ve ever received. My sister is a self proclaimed WDW addict :) Their son and 2 daughters would look dashing in these outfits!
My hero will always be my grandmother. She is 95 now and list my granddad 8 years ago. He was a lieutenant colonel and fought in ww2 and all the conflicts thereafter. She managed to raise 3 children and 7 Japanese orphans while he was absent the majority of those years. When he finally retired she managed to make his life as comfortable and carefree as possible while he dealt with the aftermath and heartbreak of war. She is the most dedicated citizen and still manages to go to cemetery on post each weekend to place flowers on all of the unmarked graves. I pray that I can honor my family and country like she has continued to in his honor. She wears a flag pen everyday, even if only on her housecoat. My daughters birth has bred the life back into her soul and for that reason I nominate her. A true American Heroes wife!