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 have two. My father, who served in the reserves (could not serve in a combat area due to his eyes back in the late 60’s and early 70’s) and made many sacrifices to make sure that my mother was well taken care of while he was gone. He has taught me much about the value of loyalty and honor.
The second is a dear friend Kami. Her husband served honorably and now continues to deal with the aftermath of issues related to severe PTSD. He is unable to work full time as a result and Kami does an amazing job of keeping the family together, all while taking care of him and providing for a child with special needs. The family is amazing, and an inspiration in perseverance. I cannot think of a more deserving person.
I nominate Brenan Miller aka “Payton Jo” she is such an awesome person & mother. Her husband served but he is no longer with them. He is not only thier hero but their guardian angel as well. I see Brenan give selflessly all the time. I can imagine being a single parent is not easy but I see that she enjoys every minute of life with her little one and it’s truly inspiring. I feel very fortunate to have met her.
My hero(es) are our children Vanessa (almost 3) and William (almost 1). They are growing up in a family with not just one parent in uniform, but both. My husband and I both serve as active duty Air Force. My husband is currently TDY, and we will soon be reunited as a family in Korea. My son will have his first birthday away from everything he has ever known. My daughter has been so strong since my husband left, she has made me so proud. My husband and I may wear the uniforms, but our children make sacrifices as well and they are the true heroes in this family.
Well, I met my husband in Shreveport,La while he was at Barksdale Airforce Base in 1993. I met him while on a girls trip to party. Now, this is back when I was young and dumb! His car load of boys were parked beside us girls. We were waiting on a train to cross. So we winked and laughed and met up at a bar. That’s where it all began. My ‘one night stand’ turned into a marriage with two kids. Jonah 6 , izzy 4. We were great friends through our many long distant relationship. To make a long story shorter, we got back together after several over sea missions. Turkey, gulf war, x 2. He got back, we got engaged, married in 2000. My father got I’ll, he lived with us for 5 yrs. so on our 6 th anniversary, we finally were alone! He retired from the military after 19 yrs! He is the best thing that has ever happened to me. And it all started with a train!
First of all thank you for sharing your story and for doing this giveaway to recognize other men and women who are special to us and are our heroes.
My hometown hero is my husband Cory. We met about 10 years ago, we’ve been married for 9. He has served as an rescue swimmer in the Coast Guard for a little over 9 years. He not only works hard for our family but also for this country. He has a very physically demanding job and one that can be very dangerous, yet he does it happily and with great joy. He truly has a passion to do this job and truly believes it is a blessing. While his job comes with many sacrifices, it is all worth it to him when he is able to assist someone who is in need or rescue someone in the middle of the ocean.
While I think it is amazing what he has done and what he continues to do because of his commitment to work for the Coast Guard, I also greatly appreciate and want to recognize him for the man that he is.
He is a godly man who loves the Lord and desires to serve and glorify Him in all that he does. Because of this, he is an amazing rescue swimmer, father, and husband. Everything that he does comes from a passion to serve God.
Maybe it is my lack of having a good or even decent father growing up, but seeing how much he loves our two little girls and all that he does for them, I truly count myself as blessed that my daughters will get to experience something I am experiencing for the first time, seeing a father who loves and cherishes his children. God is using him to heal brokenness in my own life from the scars my father has left.
He truly is a blessing to our family and our hero :)