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 Justin. I’ve known him since I was 13, but he didn’t realize I existed until I was 16. ;)….In 2009 I had just started working as a nurse and decided to see what he had been up to via fb. I’d always had a huge crush on him and wanted to see how he was. Two days after I added him as a friend he was injured by a suicide bomber in Afghanistan. Justin, along with 3 others, were hit but two of the men didn’t survive. He was transferred back stateside for treatment. We continued to talk everyday during his recovery. He started flying or driving home every chance he got and I flew to see him when I could. After our first date I knew I wanted to marry him. We were married in 2011 and our beautiful little girl was born that September. He is still currently in the process of treatment and possible medical retirement for combat related injuries but has started pre-nursing classes. He is using his rocky path as a silver lining and wants to dedicate his civilian career to being able to provide care for our wounded warriors. Seeing the dedication he had to our country through another deployment in 2012 after being wounded and the love for his job after losing his brothers at arms, to dealing with surgeries, pain, depression, and heartache just makes me admire him more. He is the bravest man I’ve ever met, I’m so honored to be his wife and the mother of our beautiful little girl who has been his saving grace through the dark days. Thank you for your consideration. Good luck to everyone and lots of prayers and love from one military family to another.
I would like to nominate my daughter and son-in-law as true heroes. My daughter, Jacki (Jacqueline Owen Whipple on fb) was just 18 when she met her now husband Jason Whipple. Jason was serving in the US Navy. After a short time of knowing Jason, he was paralyzed in the line of duty. My daughter stayed by his side through the times when it was uncertain if he would even survive, not knowing what his quality of life would be. However, they have now been married for over fourteen years. Jason is permanently in a wheelchair because of his paralysis, but they have taken everything in stride and see it all as a part of God’s beautiful plan. After years of battling infertility, they chose to pursue adoption, but not just any adoption. They have three beautiful children, two sons and one daughter, all with varying degrees of special needs. They are truly inspiring to most everyone they know and use their differences to glorify God.
I’d like to nominate my friend Autumn, a Navy spouse. I met Autumn about 15 months ago through a Facebook support group. My daughter Katelyn and her daughter Molly share the same birth defect. She has been such an inspiration to me and many others.
At 13 weeks pregnant, Autumn and her husband Cameron were told during a routine ultrasound that their daughter Molly had a birth defect called an Omphalocele. An Omphalocele is a congenital defect that occurs when the abdominal wall fails to close during the first trimester allowing organs to protrude into the umbilical cord. Molly was born with a giant Omphalocele which contains her liver, bowels, stomach, and spleen. She spent 79 days in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). During the course of her stay, Autumn was alone for over a month while her husband was working. Having a child in the hospital is very difficult and dealing with daily visits without your spouse can be difficult and a bit overwhelming! Much like my daughter’s Omphalocele, Molly’s was too large to repair at birth. Molly will have her belly repaired when she is 4-5 years old and will go through a series of surgeries. In the meantime, her Omphalocele dressing (ointment, two types of gauze and a loosely wrapped ace bandage) has to be changed daily, sometimes twice a day due to its fragile nature. Approximately 4 months after Molly came home from the hospital, Autumn’s husband deployed for 7 months. This meant Autumn had to learn to change Molly’s dressing by herself and be her sole caretaker. It is very common for babies with Omphalocele’s to have feeding issues. Molly has a Naso-Gastric(NG) tube for feeding due to oral aversion and refusing to take any food/liquid by mouth. She also has an intense gag reflex which through months of feeding therapy has only now slightly improved. Molly has faced many challenges without her husband’s help. I’ve have a deep admiration for my dear friend Autumn who has accepted these challenges for the love of her daughter.
Taking care of a special needs child is a full-time job that takes compassion and lots of selflessness. There are days when Autumn doesn’t get a moment alone or anytime to herself until Molly is sleeping. Autumn has never complained or seemed overwhelmed by her daughter’s needs. She is an amazing mom an example of resilience and dedication. I know she is deserving of this beautiful dress to honor her Navy spouse for all he does for them and our country!
My hometown hero would have to be my grandfather. In the late 1950’s, my grandmother was on her own with three small children when she met my grandfather, a corporal in the Army. They fell in love and were married shortly after with him taking in these children as his own(I didn’t even know he wasn’t my biological grandfather until I was around 11!). My grandfather not only had a career in the military, but went to chiropractic college as well. He always had a way of healing people and putting his love for others before himself, whether it be his country or his family. After all of his military travels and graduation from chiropractic college they moved back to his hometown and had one more child. We only lived about two hours from my grandparents when I was growing up but I never got to spend as much time with them as I would have liked. About 5 years ago, their health started declining and they were moved to an assisted living home in our town. This is when I started to spend more time with them. My grandfather, known to us kids as Popoo, and to everyone else as Dr. Tom, was the kindest most gentle spirited person I’ve ever met. He loved to call everyone “Sugar Booger” and always had a wink ready! My grandfather passed away last year on March 6 and this is when I truly realized what a hero is. Although I regretted not spending as much time with him when I was younger, the time I spent with him before his passing will always be the most special to me. He had always sacrificed to provide for others and never thought twice about it. He lived his life to make others happy. If I can be half the person in my lifetime that he was, it would be an honor. So if you were to choose my grandfather as your hero, I would want you to do what he would do. Choose a needy family at church or possibly at a local homeless shelter and give that little girl/boy a new dress/shirt. I can just see him now, looking down on whoever gets that outfit unexpectedly and giving them a big ole wink!
I was debating entering but how could I not. My Hometown Hero is my little sister and not because I am bias. My sister served her country for 10 long years and in the process has become a wife and a mother. Unfortunately after her second tour my sister was diagnosed with PTSD and struggles with every day life. But she has been such an inspiration. She has taken the time to make herself better not only for her but for her children. She has managed to finish her up her Master’s degree while raising a family alone. Her husband who has served 4 tours is currently overseas and instead of dwelling on it or letting it tare apart her progress she embraces it and the fact that he can still serve his country where she cannot. She has become a helping hand in her community and helps others transitioning out of the military or those recently diagnosed with PTSD. She also has a huge heart and has taken on a mother and daughter who have lost everything. She has opened up her home to them and treats this family as her own. What inspires me most about my sister is that where some would just lay die and give up she has not. She doesn’t know what tomorrow holds for her or if she will even get through it but she sees a rainbow in it all and is grateful for being able to breath everyday. I thank her everyday for all she has given up to protect this country. She is my light! Thank you so much!