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
I would also like to mention that during his military career and under the age of 35 has received the bronze medal, several coins and achievements, and is currently serving as an E-7 with promotion packet being filled out. Very proud
My hero is my husband who has proudly served as a U.S. Marine. He was deployed to Iraq, helped after the tsunami in Taiwan, and was stationed in Japan as well. He now continues his heroism as a police officer and is also on the bomb squad. He is the most selfless man I know who doesn’t think twice about sacrificing his own life for the safety of others. He is also the most amazing husband and father! We have 2 kids so far; a 3 1/2 year old girl and 1 1/2 year old boy. Our daughter was born in 2010 and we found out through some testing at around 16 weeks that she would be born with Down Syndrome. My husband was so amazing and exhibited such faith and love for Christ during that time. I don’t know what I would have done without him. Raising a child with special needs is an experience like no other. It’s wonderful and eye opening and softens your heart, but can also be especially challenging some days. The love and patience my husband has for our daughter is just amazing. I can’t put into words how lucky I am to have met and fell in love with my true hero!
My Hometown Hero is Joe and Daniella Priestler. She is a stay at home Momma of 4 very energetic kids! Her husband Joe is an Army Helicopter Pilot and has been stationed at the base right outside of the town we live in for 2 years. Joe has been a pilot for 10 years and trains others how to fly- he leaves town with almost no notice and comes home days or weeks later with no explination to where he has been. The Army is retireing his helicopter this year, so he will be training on a new helicopter out of state starting in 2 months. He will be in training for 4 months then deployed for his 3rd tour to Afganistan for the next year to 18 mo.
Daniella also served when she was younger- previous to having children- in the Air Force. I know this upcoming deployment is weighing on her- the challenge of maintaining order and create a new normal for the littles with her husband away for so long. She would love to have such beautiful dresses for her daughters to celebrate all the selfless days and nights their Daddy has spent serving.
My heroes are all those who selflessly serve day in and day out. Among those are both grandfathers in WWII, my daddy and my father in law in Vietnam, my husband in Desert Storm and my brother today with the Air Force in South Korea. I am forever grateful for their service and the service of countless others to protect my family. My prayers and thoughts are with them always.
My husband is my military hero. He has been in special forces training with the army for several years and has shown great dedication not only to the training and his fitness, but also to his country and the foundations upon which it was created. During his training the past 3 years, we have birthed two beautiful baby girls. One birth with him by my side, another birth through FaceTime. I am so grateful for his (and all others soldiers’) sacrifice. We’ve lived together. We lived apart due to high risk pregnancy (#2). It would mean so much to have the opportunity for our girls to don these well dressed wolf dresses. We wear our nation’s colors with pride and in gratitude of my husband/their father and others who commit to the potentially giving the ultimate sacrifice for others.
Our daughters are age 2 (2t) and age 7 months (9 month). Thank you for your consideration!