Just as the acknowledgement of the commitment and sacrifices made by our country’s military veterans deserves to extend past one single day of recognition, we on the staff of The Cat Talk feel it must also extend past the veterans themselves to their spouses and children. Immediate family members of those who choose to serve become part of that commitment as well. Families may be relocated frequently, having a parent or spouse that takes time away from their family in order to serve their country and leaving those at home to carry extra responsibilities; others may have a parent or spouse who was changed by their time within the service, lessons learned about sacrifice and gratefulness, or opportunities to travel the world. Whether their parent or spouse’s service was pivotal in their daily tasks or completed prior to their own birth, these staff members were impacted when their loved one made a choice to serve within the United States military, and the Cat Talk staff would like to thank them for their contributions.

CHILD of a MILITARY VETERAN

Mrs. Paula Abbott

Parent who served:Father
Branch: Air Force
Years of service: 20
Rank of parent when they left the military: Staff Sergeant
Description of their job in the military: “Part of his time was as a medic. His last 11 or 12 years he was part of the OSI. He did investigations when someone needed a higher level of security. He learned the Vietnamese language and did interrogations during the Vietnam War.”
A memory you have as a military child: “When Daddy returned from the Vietnam War, he often reminded us how blessed we were to live in a free country and to have plenty of food.”

Mr. Idris Abdul Aziz

Parent who served: Father
Branch: Army
Years of service: unknown
Rank of parent when they left the military: unknown
Description of their job while in the military: unknown
A memory you have as a military child: “None, he fought in Vietnam and I was born after.”

Ms. Julee Dickens

Parent who served: Father
Branch: Army
Years of service: 2
Rank of parent when they left the military: unknown
Description of their job while in the military: “He repaired airplanes during the Korean War.”
A memory you have as a military child: [He served] “before I was born.”

Mr. Duane Flowers

Parent who served: Father
Branch: Army
Years of service: 21
Rank of parent when they left the military: E-7/Sergeant First Class
Description of their job while in the military: “My dad retired as a Hawk Missile system maintenance supervisor.”
A memory you have as a military child: “One of my fondest military child memories is driving across [the] country to a new duty station, listening to my dad tell jokes along the way. This made the drive feel shorter and brought on some excitement about being in a new place.”

Mr. Glenn Flowers

Parent who served: Father
Branch: Navy
Years of service: 20
Rank of parent when they left the military: Chief
Description of their job while in the military: Radioman
A memory you have as a military child: “Spending time aboard ship for a dependents cruise (family was allowed on the ship for a day while at sea).”

Ms. Jessica George

Parent who served: Father
Branch: Army
Years of service: 4
Rank of parent when they left the military: unknown
Description of their job while in the military: Tank mechanic
A memory you have as a military child: “We lived in Germany for almost 4 years (that’s where he was stationed). I was 5 when we moved over there. We didn’t live on base, but I went to school on base. Both my brothers were born in Nuremberg. My dad served in the Desert Storm War in Saudi. I was 8 and remember being scared for him. Luckily he didn’t really see any action – he was a tank mechanic and he came home just in time for my youngest brother to be born.”

Ms. Lashonda Haddock

Parent who served: Father
Branch: Army
Years of service: 5
Rank of parent when they left the military: Sergeant
Description of their job while in the military: “He was one of the communications liaison’s who worked with the ARVN (Army of Vietnam) in Saigon during the Vietnam War.”
A memory you have as a military child: “Listening to my father’s stories about Vietnam, he was drafted a few months after his older brother lost his life to a landmine. He would tell me stories of what it was like in Vietnam, the racism that he faced, and how it felt to fight against a country who he felt killed his brother. These stories helped foster my love for history that I still have today. As a member of a Gold Star family, we always try to honor my uncle on Veterans Day.”

Mrs. Dana King

Parent who served: Father
Branch: Army
Years of service: 7
Rank of parent when they left the military: Captain
Description of their job while in the military: Quartermaster corp
A memory you have as a military child: “When he got back from Korea he had a big box of gifts for all of us and I don’t know who we were more excited to see, dad or what was in the big box!”

Ms. Laurel MacIntyre

Parent who served: Father
Branch: Army
Years of service: 2
Rank of parent when they left the military: unknown
Description of their job while in the military: Army Corp of Engineers
A memory you have as a military child: “Hearing my Dad tell us 7 kids about his time serving in Newfoundland, of how cold and deep the snow was. He was on a team that was building roads and a bridge.”

Ms. Jamie McBride

Parent who served: Father
Branch: Army
Years of service: 4
Rank of parent when they left the military: Staff Sergeant
Description of their job while in the military: “My Dad, James Ainsworth, enlisted and served in the Army right out of high school in 1954. He was stationed in West Germany, and worked on military vehicles. He chose to leave after 4 years and use his GI Bill to go to college.”
A memory you have as a military child: “My Dad had long left the military by the time I came along. We often talked about his military service, and how he would have been career Army, had my grandmother not insisted he come home and go to college.”

Ms. Jessica Perkins

Parent who served: Both
Branch: Air Force
Years of service: 5
Rank of parent when they left the military: Sergeant
Description of their job while in the military: “My mom was an accountant and my father was law enforcement.”
A memory you have as a military child: “They both received honorable discharges after finding out they were pregnant with me while stationed in England. My father wanted me to be raised around his family, so they moved to Florida.”

Ms. Adrienne Sutton

Parent who served: Father
Branch: Army
Years of service: 13
Rank of parent when they left the military: unknown
Description of their job while in the military: “At one point my dad was a Drill Sergeant.”
A memory you have as a military child: “I was too young to remember.”

Mrs. Alison Yopp

Parent who served: Father
Branch: Army
Years of service: 2.5
Rank of parent when they left the military: Private First Class
Description of their job while in the military: “He was in the army as a rifleman but played baseball for the 24th Infantry Division which was his main job. ;)”
A memory you have as a military child: “My dad was in the military before I was born.”

SPOUSE of a MILITARY VETERAN

Mrs. Genevieve Capers

Spouse’s Branch: Air Force
Years of service: 21
Rank of spouse when they left the military: E-8
Spouse’s job while in the military: Weapons safety; ammunitions
Something you valued as a military spouse: Travel

Mrs. Mildred Hernandez

Spouse’s Branch: Army (active duty and Reserves)
Years of Service: 29
Rank of spouse when they left the military: Lt. Colonel
Spouse’s job while in the military: “He was many things. He had done airborne and was in the JROTC and then worked his way up to the ranks. His main job was in the nuclear warfare dept. Much is top secret so I did not know much. All I know [is] that I saw him only 100 days a year. He then went to command several units throughout the United States.”
Something you valued as a military spouse: “The sacrifice we make to be away from family.”

Mrs. Alicia Mattias

Spouse’s Branch: Army
Years of Service: 16
Rank of spouse when they left the military: E-7
Spouse’s job while in the military: Photojournalist
Something you valued as a military spouse: “Opportunities to meet so many people from around the country while having a mission of serving others.”

Mrs. Alyssa Morris

Spouse’s Branch: Army
Years of Service: 4
Rank of spouse when they left the military: E-4 Specialist
Spouse’s job while in the military: Artillery and logistics

Mr. Richard Thrash

Spouse’s Branch: Army
Years of service: 3
Rank of spouse when they left the military: E-4
Spouse’s job while in the military: Tank Mechanic
Something you valued as a military spouse: “Serving our country with pride.”