While we honor those who served on this Veteranss Day, lets not forget those who held down the fort at home. My wife Pat is the daughter of a WWII Army veteran, the daughter-in-law of two Navy veterans, was a Navy wife, was a Navy mom, and is now a Navy grandmother. As is often the case, she went through more stuff on my deployments than I did. She was alone in Norfolk, with a young daughter on the second deployment of our marriage. Her family was almost a thousand miles away. Within the first month, she lost her job, our apartment was broken into and all of her jewelry and our gun were stolen, my car was put on blocks in the middle of the night and all of the wheels and tires were stolen. Another time, she and a friend, with three kids in tow, got stranded at the circus when a blizzard hit, and just got out before the place was locked down. They had to rely on the mercy of total strangers (men in a 4-wheel drive) to give them a ride home. Another time, we lost men over the side during a storm who were never seen again. At home in Norfolk, the wives knew this had happened but didnt know if it was their husband until we pulled into port 24 hours later. Millions of other women (and some men) have gone through this, and many are going through it today, at this very moment. Military service is a family effort!
Posted on: Mon, 11 Nov 2013 14:24:15 +0000