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 husband is my military hero. His ongoing commitment to Special Forces training with the Army has undoubtedly and continually blown me away. With early hour physical training, late night hours studying language and communication systems, he has sacrificed so much to take care care of not only his own family but also the United States and the foundation upon which it was built.
During his training at Ft. Bragg, he has endured SERE school (Survival Evasion Resistance Escape) in freezing temperatures, grueling courses in foreign language/policy, and multiple months long training sessons 100% out of contact with his children and myself.
During his training, both of his daughters were born, one with him miraculously able to be by my side, and another where he was unable to attend her birth due to high risk complications that caused me to be transferred out of state to fetal specialists for the remaining second half of the pregnancy. (Remember all of those “I’ve changed our address.. AGAIN emails, WDW?” This is why!!!)
It would mean so much to us for our girls to have the opportunity to don WDW, particularly in our nation’s colors! They are such beautiful dresses, and our girls’ Daddy would beam seeing them together in attire that reminds him 1) why and for whom he is protecting and fighting for 2) how much he loves his country and 3) that he is giving his daughters an excellent start to the role patriotism can provide starting in the nuclear family and branching outward!Thanks for your consideration, and thanks WDW for remembering military families! It means SO much!
My Hometown Hero is my husband, TSgt Chris Bevins. I met him eight years ago, when I was a senior in college, and he was trying to decide what to do with his life. After the horrific events of 9/11, he decided he wanted to make a difference and keep this world safe for his future children. He enlisted in the Air Force and the rest, as they say, is history! We have lived in four different states and one country in the past seven years. We have missed parties, weddings, graduations, and countless other Holidays and family get-togethers. My husband has been deployed six times in the past seven years, with this one definitely being the most difficult. Not only is he gone for 12 months, but he is also leaving behind our just turned 2 daughter. He missed her 2nd birthday, Christmas, and all of her “first” Holidays since this is the first year she is understanding what each Holiday actually is! He is trying to be strong, but I know it is killing him inside. He is a wonderful father, the kind of father every women hopes her husband is. He loves to read her stories, play tea party with her, and they both love playing in the ocean together. It kills me that he is missing so much of her life, and I worry every day that when he comes back there will be a disconnect that may take months, or years to be put back together. I agree that every military member is a hero, but my husband is my favorite one!
I nominate your hubby Sarah, Seth. My heart broke for you when you had to deliver without him. But most importantly I’ve watched y’all support each other. You him and him you.
My husband is by far my hometown hero and the love of my life. <3
Gary comes from a family full of Army officers with special operations training so it is no surprise that he spent 10 years stationed in Savannah as an Army Ranger. Over the range of 10 years he did 7 deployments to Iraq and 4 to Afghanistan. After he got out of the military he began contracting and still continues to spend about 2/3 of the year in Iraq with 3 months on 2 months off rotations. Our daughter came 3 weeks early and because of his job we were caught completely off guard and he wasn't home for her birth. She is definitely a daddy's girl. I know that it is hard for him to miss so many parts of her life, but he is such a strong devoted American and truly believes that there is a reason for what he does. More than anything, I am thankful that the job that he has and the things he has/does see every day have not hardened his amazing and caring heart. He will never turn down a tea party, princess book, deny a snuggle, or a plea to please help me cart the new WDW
My husband is a true American hero…
My Hometown Hero is my dad. He served in the army for 27 years, retiring as a master sergeant. He was orphaned at 10, and joined after his brother did, because “3 squares a day and a chance to see the world sounded pretty good.” He went all over Europe, to Iran, Korea, Norway, and served a tour in Vietnam during the war.
He met my mom, an army widow at the time, through friends at Ft. Lewis, and they corresponded for several months via Reel to Reel tapes that they still have after he was stationed next in Norway. He proposed, she and her first son (my half-brother) flew out there, and my second brother was born there. I was born at Ft. Belvoir, VA, and from there, we went to Schofield Barracks, HI, and back to Ft. Lewis. Next post was to have been Mannheim, Germany, but rather than keep uprooting us kids, my dad decided that it was time to retire.
My dad is an amazing man, and so devoted to his wife and family. I love to hear his stories and am trying to record them to share with our daughter. We try to skype every night so that he can see her grow, and I am really looking forward to going home so he can hold her on his lap, since he can’t travel anymore. Fourth of July is our favorite holiday, and I can’t wait for him to see her dancing in her new dress <3