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 selfless husband of four years, Chris. He has been on 4 deployments in 4 years with the US Navy. 3 deployments on the USS George Washington and one so far on the USS Tortuga. Weeks after we were married, we picked up out entire lives and moved across the world to Yokosuka, Japan. While stationed there, we welcomed our first son, Christian. My husband was unable to be there for his birth due to being deployed. It was both heartbreaking and devastating for us. After our 3 year tour in Japan, we moved back to the US to Virginia. As soon as we arrived, we learned the ship would be leaving on deployment within a few weeks. Heart broken once more, my husband left, without having time to completely finish unpacking or without me making new friends. The adjustment was hard. So, after missing our sons birth, he would also miss his first birthday, first steps and first words. After what seemed like a lifetime, we welcomed the ship home after months and months of being gone. Our son was a whole different child to him. He was a little boy and no longer a baby. Our transitions through the changes of life have been difficult. He’s never spent more than 6 months at home with us. We have learned to say “see you later” without too many tears and “welcome home” with lots if tears of happiness. Our story sounds similar to so many other military wives’ stories. Going through the motions of being a wife, but a single parent. It’s hard on a family as a whole. My husband uses every second of his time and every ounce of his energy to play with his son. He is such a wonderful father and cannot do enough to show him his love. The moments of seeing them together are bittersweet—because you don’t know how many of those moments you will have again. He is without a doubt, our number one hero. Not only does he give himself wholeheartedly to his family, but to his country that he is so proud of and is so proud to serve. He is a sailor to the core. God bless our country, our service men, and Go Navy!
I have a family full of Hometown heroes. My father is retired Navy, Brother and Brother in law are Marines. I have another Brother in Law and myself are veteran Air Force, but the most valuable Hero to me is my Husband, Mark.
We met during an exercise on base at the end of March 2002. Few weeks later we had an air show for the community on base. Apparently he was injured on the air field (fell into a hole in the grass). I was a Medic in family practice so I had the task of casting his leg. We talked for a while then I wheeled him out to his ride. A week later he called me ,then emailed me to ask me on a date. We were married on Oct 11, 2002 only 6 months after we met. Soon after we were married, He deployed Dec 2002 for the start of the Operation Enduring Freedom.
When he returned I separated from the Air Force, found out we were pregnant with our first child, Andrea (first grandchild on both sides of the family!) Mark left several more times for his job as an EOD Tech (explosive ordnance disposal "bomb squad).As a military wife you take on duties of mom, dad, playmate, therapist and all other expected duties as a single parent while our military men serve. His last deployment was when I was pregnant with our second child in 2009. He left the day after Christmas, and I had a beautiful baby girl exactly a month later. Thanks to satellite phones I finally talked to him a few hours after she was born. Mark finally met our sweet E’Olivia Delle at the end of July 2010.
Today, Mark is retired from the Air Force and works as a traveling explosive contractor. Like many other families we are dealing with the wounds of war. He has PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder and TBI (traumatic brain injury). He has good and bad days and sometimes weeks – a lot of therapy visits! My husband is proud to have served his country as well as fight in two wars. He cries when the National Anthem plays and humbly remembers his brothers in arms- current, past and present.
I am honored to share my story, as well as, recognize my husband and all the military families as my Hometown hero.
My Hometown Hero is my husband. We first met 15 years ago as lifeguards at our community swimming pool. He asked me out then and I said no because he was younger than me (shallow I know, but who isn’t a little shallow as a young teenager…it’s way more important to be “cool” at that age). Soon after high school he became rebellious and left our small town for the US Marine Corps. While on active duty he completed two tours in Iraq. Fast forward 10 years after we met and we reconnected on facebook and began a long distance relationship. Soon after he was honorably discharged, we were married. While his military service makes him an American hero, there is so much more that makes him my hero. He has been my rock and my support through so many difficult times including infertility and having a son who was born with developmental disabilities. After our struggles through infertility, we were blessed with a handsome baby boy (through IVF) and a beautiful baby girl (who surprised us by arriving a mere 10.5 months after our son). Seeing my husband with our children makes me love him a million times more and is truly what makes him a hero! He is the best father in the world and loves our children with every ounce of his being. It amazes me every day how my “big bad marine” can be such a protective, gentle giant where the kids are concerned. Words will never express how proud I am of this man’s service to his country and how bless I am to call him mine! Thanks to him and all of the other military men and women who have selflessly given of themselves to protect my freedom!
I’d like to nominate my dear friend Juliet Williams Pierce. I met Jules in August of 1999 as a freshman at an all-girls Catholic schol and could tell right away how strong she was…in every aspect. She was an athlete, she was a tough cookie, super popular and strong in her faith…but I didn’t know her true strength until 2005. Juliet was in graduate school for physical therapy and we were living a few hours away, often catching up during hour long phone conversations. I never expected to get a call from her telling me she’d been diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of 24. For the next few years I watched Jules fight for her life, while continuing her studies. She lost her hair, had surgery, chemo and radiation, but she never lost her spirit or her strength. She graduated on time, with her classmates.
Juliet beat cancer and met the love of her life, got married and moved from Louisiana to Colorado with Brady. Brady served a tour in Afghanistan and when he came home they decided to start a family. Last January 24th, Juliet had her baby girls, Rachel and Lexie. When the girls were 11 months old (this past November) Brady was deployed once again. Juliet took it in stride, packed her baby girls up and moved back to LA to be near family while Brady is overseas.
Jules dropped another bombshell on me when she told me they would be moving to Germany in January of 2015…for THREE years. But in her typical style, she is making the best of it and is excited about their next adventure. Throughout everything she has been through, she never once questioned God or her faith, she’s never complained and has always found the good in every situation.
Rachel and Lexie would look ADORABLE in WDW. And Juliet would be honored to win (and shocked—-she has no idea I nominated her!). I’ve learned so much about being a strong woman and letting go of control, and about my faith from Juliet. It truly is a pleasure to nominate her. Thanks y’all!
My military hero is my dad, Carl!! He has thought me so much about respecting others and respecting our country the United States of America!! He was in the Navy and has been to war. He helped fight for freedom which I am very grateful for!! If it were not for our service men and women we would be fighting here on our land. This is the best place to live! I am honored to say “I live in the land of the free and home of the brave!”