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 little brother, Jerry Conrad, who served in the Louisiana National Guard as a SGT. His troop went to Iraq for a year, and they were supposed to return home to LA in September of 2005. As everyone (at least in LA) knows, Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans on August 29th, 2005, so his troop was called home early. My brother went straight from Iraq to protecting the residents of our city of New Orleans, and then, he joined my stepfather in helping rebuild the city-they rebuilt people’s houses; churches; and helped anyone needing help. He lost nine of his close friends from his troop during his tour of Iraq. When the family sent him emails, phone calls, and texts on Memorial Day and Veteran’s Day, this is always his response:
“Dear all, I appreciate everyone’s thoughts and prayers on Memorial Day. I feel honored and thankful every time one of you thanks me for serving my country. It’s wonderful people like you who make this great nation worth defending.
I also would like to remind you of some friends of mine who are the real heroes. These are the men who deserve real honor and who this holiday is really about. I see them every day and I like to remind people what their names are so they will never be forgotten.
COMEAUX, BERGERON, BABIN, FASSBENDER, MEAUX, VON RONN, FRICKY, HAHN, AND HETZEL.
Say their names one time and pray for their families. Thank you."
To me, my little brother will always be my Hero.
Although my husband served in the Marines, and he is one of my two favorite heroes, I would definitely have to nominate my great uncle, Lowell Shaw. He served in the Army during WWII and was stationed in Germany. He is going on 90 years old and is one of the sweetest, most loving and God fearing men I’ve ever met. He and my Aunt have been married since they were 18 years old. He is a man of few words but he always listens and smiles. The war is not something he speaks much of but he is admired more than he will ever know.
I would like to Nominate my husband Michael.We have 3 kids, all girls. Nope we where not trying for a boy lol.
Mike is currently out, but was in the the Marines until 2011. He struggles daily with PTSD, a traumatic brain injury and the loss of friends killed in his unit. Mike is a OIF veteran and is my hero. He is our kids hero. Every day he does the best he can, he goes to work and he puts a smile on. Even with crushing pain, grief and the turmoil PTSD has caused. Thanks for the chance!!
I would love to thank my wonderful husband for serving in the Marines for four years, and honorably discharged.. He has made many sacrifices and missed out on many special occasions. But his heart was always in the right place. I am so grateful to him for serving our country and for giving myself and our baby a great life. I am so blessed to be married to a man who is proud to be an American. He is my military hero!
My Hero is my husband of 23yrs…MAC Shane Folendore…it has been the greatest journey and one I have been honored to share with my best friend and soul mate!! We met in science class in the 8th grade who knew!! It was our destiny…we started off our USN military career in 1990 we lived in Virginia for the first 2 yrs. in that time I saw him maybe 3 mths on and off…he missed my whole pregnancy and the birth of both of our children…although I do wish he could have been there it was what we signed up for and I wouldn’t change a thing!! He is a tireless mentor and is always there to help anyone in need while making sure our family is taken care of as well. We are now in the last few yrs of our military career and life couldn’t be better. We are blessed with 2 beautiful 18 mth old granddaughters…TWINS…they are our heart. Watching him play and cuddle with them is the best!! and somehow it makes up for time he didn’t have with our own children. No matter where our path leads in the next few yrs we will walk together hand and hand. My Hero my Love he will always be❤️❤️