Kristi
My first “official” writing job was a weekly column in the local paper near our first installation. I’d been a military spouse a little over a year going through my husband’s first deployment, and I somehow managed to convince my editor and my readers that I knew enough about being a military spouse and the military community to be a military spouse columnist.
I can’t be sure whether I taught my readers anything, but they did teach me something. They taught me that the military life of today had done little to teach me about the way things used to be.
Luckily these readers thought enough of me to share their experiences from World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Persian Gulf War, and everything in between. Their stories humbled me, brought tears to my eyes, made me laugh out loud and appreciate the technology available today that allow us to email, video chat and even talk on the phone with our service members during deployment.
The stories of sacrifice that I read from military spouses who often went months without word from their service member made me feel ridiculous about complaining about a bad connection during an attempt to video chat with my husband during his deployment.
Many emails from retired service members began so lightheartedly, thanking me for writing my column, explaining their connection to the service and then explaining how they could’ve never done their job without their solid-as-a-rock military spouse taking care of the kids, house and finances back home. Their words overflowed with so with admiration and pride that it was impossible not to feel their love for their spouses.
Unfortunately, some emails from military spouses told me about those “last deployments,” those service members who served proudly and didn’t make it home, or those that lived a long life after the military and had only recently passed away. These emails never asked for pity; they simply projected the strength of military spouses, a group in which I am proud to be included.
The wars of our country’s past, like the war of our present, haven’t always been widely supported or understood, but these service members carried out their duty for the sake of all of us back home. There are dangers faced and sacrifices made by service members and their families, and that commands respect and has nothing to do with whether a war is popular.
The generations of men and women that we call veterans and veteran spouses have a lot to teach us about the sacrifices they have made and what it means to be part of the military community. It is what we make it, and I don’t know about you, but I choose to make the most of it. I make this choice not only for me, my hardworking service member and my family, but I choose strength and optimism because our generation will soon be looked up to as those who once served. I choose to bear that title with pride and deliver an example of strength to those who will inevitably follow in our footsteps.