The families of US military personnel make huge sacrifices as the military member serves. The family sacrifices are significant. Few civilians, realize how the families are impacted. The stress can be significant and often leads to divorce.
Daniel and Sophia were married June 2012. After leaving the military in 2013 Sgt. Daniel G., re-enlisted with the US Army in 2016, then was deployed to Afghanistan during 2017. This caused Daniel to miss CHRISTmas with his wife Sophia and 4-year-old son Adam. The separation put stress on the marriage.
Daniel was in a tough situation. During 2018, Sophia had filed for and received a divorce. She moved from Anchorage, Alaska 4,400 miles back home to an east coast southern state with Adam, now 5 years old.
In November 2018, OPERATION:H.O.M.E. was contacted by Daniel’s 1st Sergeant with a request for help to get Daniel to see his son for CHRISTmas.
Missing CHRISTmas two years in a row was completely unacceptable to Daniel. He had to get to his son. Daniel’s problem was that he is stationed at JBER (Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson) Alaska and a plane ticket to the eastern US would cost $1,500 which he did not have.
With CHRISTmas fast approaching, OPERATION:H.O.M.E. contacted Sgt. Daniel G. He explained his situation and said it was imperative he reach his son for CHRISTmas. As he shared his story, it became clear that 6 years had passed since he had been to his hometown where his parents lived. OPERATION:H.O.M.E. offered to fly Daniel G. to his son and then fly the two of them to Daniel’s parents a couple states away. Daniel declined the second offer and requested that money be spent on another soldier. He said he would drive to see his parents. We agreed to help Daniel fly home to see his son for CHRISTmas.
As a follow up after Christmas, OPERATION:H.O.M.E. spoke to Daniel after his return to base to ask how his trip went. Daniel shared the trip to see his son was “Awesome” and he was able to take his son to see his parents. But Daniel’s good news didn’t stop there. He told us that Sophia and he decided they would work to make their family whole. Daniel stated he was going to request a career change inside the military, hoping to become a recruiter and take a position as close to his family as possible. Sophia was pleased.
We were obviously excited about these developments, and Daniel asked if he could share something else. ”Of course!” we replied. “I know that you may think this is crazy but…” Daniel said, “we not only decided to try and make it work, we actually remarried and committed to make this thing work.”
WOW -- Daniel got his trip. Sophia got her husband. Adam got his family. MERRY CHRISTmas to all!
To help the family further, OPERATION:H.O.M.E. provided counseling resources to help them build a stronger bond.
This could not have happened without the contributions and prayers from the incredibly dedicated supporters of OPERATION:H.O.M.E.
The last time we spoke to Daniel was the second week of August 2019. He was on “leave”. His job while on “leave” was moving his family from the southern U.S. to the upper north-west to his new station. Absolutely Fantastic.
Thank you to all who support this work.
25 Military Members Given trips home
2 MEMBERS OF THE USAF TRAVELED HOME FROM GUAM…THE SECOND BRANCH OF THE ARMED FORCES WE HAVE HELPED!
OUR GOAL IS TO HELP EVERY BRANCH!
SPC. J. VERA could not afford to go home to San Juan PR., for CHRISTmas, even though his sister was getting married.
OPERATION H.O.M.E. donors made it happen for SPC. Vera. The bride was happy.A1C. BRONTLEY wanted to see his ailing grand-father one last time. His ticket from his station in the Pacific Ocean was too expensive on his military budget. Thank you OPERATION H.O.M.E. supporters for your sacrifice to make this possible.
SPC. Babbidge had not been home for CHRISTmas in 3 years partly because of a deployment to the Middle East. Babbidge got home for CHRISTmas 2018 thanks to OPERATION H.O.M.E.
