JBarthol – Reason I Support The Military
My love and respect for the military was born out of marriage and the birth of my son. I married a US Army veteran in 1987, long after he was honorably discharged but learned a lot from the stories he shared. Little did I know at the time that my older son would follow in his footsteps except that he joined the Marine Corps. Suffice it to say that I may as well have been in the military myself. When he was deployed to Kuwait I was on pins and needles. Every time I heard of a mishap; I’d call the platoon management to inquire if my son was alright. I understand what the families of these brave men and women go through daily. It’s the reason I can identify with them and their pain when their loved ones, unfortunately, don’t make it back home. I pray for them and have the greatest respect for the sacrifice they make to defend our freedom. God bless these soldiers.
Carl Barnes – US Army Service
Jennifer’s ex husband is a retired army veteran. He was drafted in December 1965 during the Viet Nam era. In December 1966 he went to Jump school in Ft. Benning, GA. He suffered a knee injury jumping out of an airplane but moved on to serve a tour of duty as direct support for Vietnam casualties who were flown to a 1000 bed hospital in Yokohama Japan. He was awarded both a national defense medal and a good conduct medal. He was honorably discharged after serving 2 years as rank E-4.
Chris Barthol – Marine Corps Service
Jennifer’s older son is a United States Marine Corps veteran. He served a tour of duty when he was deployed to Kuwait in February 2003 to help with the efforts of Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF). He was part of a Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical (NBC) weapon Defense platoon and was responsible for threat assessment in the event of an NBC attack. He served for 6 months in OIF before returning to Camp Lejeune as an E-4 Lance Corporal in August 2003. He completed an 8 year military career in June 2007 and is now working as an electrical engineer in Houston TX.