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 amazing husband of 10 years. For over 16 years he has served his country in the USAF and continues to be an inspiration not only to me but our 3 beautiful children. A devoted, godly family man with a heart of service, what more could I ask for? That being said, I would love to nominate my dear friend Angie. She is a military spouse I had the pleasure of befriending a few assignments ago. I forget how long her husband has served but they have 3 sweet children and have had a really tough year. Her husband’s father was critically injured a few months ago and spent some time in the hospital. Her husband was by his side for several weeks while Angie held down the fort. Shortly after that her father was placed in the hospital and spent a few months fighting for his life. He lost that fight just before Christmas. She has had a tough time dealing with the news and caring for her family. A think a little Well Dressed Wolf would be such a beautiful distraction from the new reality she is facing. Thanks so much for the opportunity, WDW!
My family HERO is my dearest sister Lily, a former ER registered nurse who is fighting for her life. Our story is a bit of a sad one. Coming from a large family, my dad lost 3 kids (ages 8,10,12 – two girls and a boy) at once when they went swimming in a lake with a neighbor. His wife died of cancer 6 months later. The good news is that they all received Christ as their Personal Lord and Savior and told the parents that all their life they will love the Lord and go to church. I guess God knew better. My dad re-married and had 7 more kids, one of which, Lily the oldest sister was diagnosed in 2011 with a rare form of sinus cancer, that took over her life, vision and beautiful face. She has 2 kids, Ellie (4 years old) and Ethan 8 years old. For the past almost 2 years she was not able to attend, school plays, recitals or parent-teacher conferences due to her severe pain, not being able to see or eat and sometimes even breathe. She was labeled as “the best caring nurse” by any doctor and fellow co-worker, who spent extra time and sometimes going beyond her role as a nurse. For years we had every Christmas and Thanksgiving at her house, where she cooked no less than 10+ dishes, numerous sides and baked enough to feed an entire neighborhood. She always bought presents for the entire family, extended family and anyone who attended the party without once thinking of herself. I have never seen her done anything for herself, it was always to serve others and give as much away as possible. We don’t have a military soldier in our family, but I just wanted to mention my hero sister Lily and her BIG heart of serving others. She has been hospitalized since day after Christmas due to her cancer spreading to the spine and lungs. The last thing my sister tried to do without giving up is to cook a simple side dish for Christmas was barely standing on her feet, crying of pain, barely seeing with one eye (30%), but she would not let us take her to the ED or go in willingly, even though her pain was a 10 (scale of 0-10)! She fought to serve others a dish because that was the least she could do to make it a “Merry Christmas” There is a lot of sadness in our family during this hard time, and seeing the kids and how they miss their mommy just shatters our hearts. Thank you for the opportunity to share our Hero. God Bless You.
I was US Army and my hubs was a Marine and is now Army! He has served 18 years in the military. He just left for training for 6 months last Wednesday. He is our ROCK! He works constantly and provides for us so that I can stay home with our children, one of which has a respiratory disease. Since she was 3 months old our daughter has gone into respiratory failure in the middle of the night with no known cause. We deal with this on a regular bases. My daughter can not go to regular preschool and my husband who is on active duty orders works two extra jobs on top of the military to make it possible for her to stay at home away from germs. Since October he has gotten up to work at four in the morning only to get off at two and go to another job from three until eleven. He got 3 hours of sleep every night, all just fro support us! He is an amazing father and husband, and he is the epitome of the word HERO. Our family would be lost without him.
My hometown hero is my cousin but more like a brother. Our mothers are sisters and me being an only child we grew up together experiencing so much together. He joined the national guard ten years ago because he wanted to be a part of the American military . Last May we found he was going to Afghanistan. Horror at the thought. Not only is he a man committed to protecting his country but he’s a husband and father to 3 beautiful children ages 6 and 4 year old twins. When we found out we were in shock but then he told us he volunteered for this mission and he wanted to do this for his country . He left last august for what we thought to be a year or more. But through such a blessing he came home at Christmas. They didn’t tell their children and he surprised them jumping out on Christmas Day from a big wrapped box! Best Christmas gift ever!
My hometown hero is Brian Lagarde. He is the husband of my precious friend Carla. They have 5 kiddos ages 10 years to 21M. He recently got back from a year in the Middle East. I am so proud of the sacrifice he and his family have made for the every day freedoms we take for granted! I honestly don’t know how Carla did it by herself for so long. And she always had a smile and was eager to help others. If this comment is chosen, please give the free dress to Carla Lagarde.