Cody Hagerman and his wife Lauren were barely out of high school when they had their first child, Ayden, now in his teens. Cody wanted a stable career but also to serve his country. In 2008, he enlisted in the Army. He expected to serve at least 20 years but after a deployment to Iraq … Continued
In his 20 years of service, retired Army Staff Sgt. Robert Carter Sr. earned a Purple Heart, and deployed four times, three of those combat deployments. His body remains riddled with shrapnel after being injured in a mortar attack in Iraq in 2004. “From my collarbone to my ankle, I got shrapnel all over,” Robert … Continued
Marine veteran Alexander Tettey Jr. recently completed training to become an emergency medical technician but before he could start a job, the global pandemic made the work too risky. Alexander is a caregiver for his disabled father, who lives with him. With his father being high risk for contracting COVID-19, Alexander could not take the … Continued
Navy veteran Clinton Patterson was three days into his first deployment in April 2018 when his wife Jessica confirmed she was pregnant. As he traveled to various locations in the Mediterranean and North Atlantic seas, both worried he would not be home for the birth of his first child. He returned in November that same … Continued
As COVID-19 shut down in-person meetings, businesses, and churches, all places where caregivers may seek support, Michelle Bassett has made it her mission to make sure those in her Hearts of Valor caregiver support group know she is still there when needed. “Whether it’s a text message or email or call, I’m just saying that … Continued
Michelle Bassett is a military spouse and caregiver for her husband, James Bassett, a retired Army specialist. The two are both cancer survivors and James was a caregiver for Michelle after her mastectomy and several other surgeries. But physical injuries from his time in the service became more problematic and now Michelle is his full-time … Continued
Amanda and her husband, Jose Arguelles, had been married for three years when Jose decided to enlist in the Army. Their oldest daughter, Aliyana, was 2 at the time. “We started our journey at Fort Hood,” Amanda said. “I got pregnant with our second, which was our son Axavier, and my husband deployed when I … Continued
Geraldine Ferraren grew up in the Philippines as a U.S. citizen. Once she was old enough, she left her home country and moved to the U.S. to serve in the American military. Being a young woman and traveling alone, from what she said was a conservative country to a more liberal one, certainly had its … Continued
As a caregiver for her Army veteran husband, Tonya Gallina has had to quit two jobs, wrestled with feelings of isolation and at one point, lived through homelessness. She and Kurt met in 2013 and got married two years later. Between the two of them, they have five kids, ages 15 to 30. “I really … Continued
Shawn Hill was attending Howard University when her grandmother—who had graduated from Howard—became ill with cancer. Shawn eventually had to quit school to help her mom care for her grandmother until she died. After that, Shawn was never able to finish her degree. She eventually became a military spouse, marrying a Marine, Octavious Hill in … Continued