Army veteran and Bronze Star recipient Troy Wesley watched as circumstances surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic diminished his family’s income and left him wondering how to stretch the family budget to feed his family of five.
Troy was furloughed from his job as a security guard when the bank where he worked closed its lobby to the public. His wife, LaQuanna, was also furloughed from her job as a police officer in Greenville, Mississippi, because of budget shortfalls after the city’s main business, a casino, was forced to close because of the pandemic.
Troy also had to shutter his barbecue catering business when supplies became unavailable.
The family’s expenses had increased with their three children – a 14-year-old son and 17-year-old twins – home schooling, and Troy stressed about how to stretch his VA disability pay cover all the family’s expenses.
“It was tough times,” he said. “I do everything I can for my family, and it feels bad when I can’t provide.”
In May, Troy applied for Operation Homefront’s Critical Financial Assistance (CFA) program, and thanks to generous donors, the family received a $250 gift card to buy food. He felt relieved and thankful.
“I’m grateful for what Operation Homefront has done for me and my family,” he said.
He explained that Operation Homefront (OH) assisted with home-repair expenses three years ago when the family’s home needed a new roof.
“My oldest son had passed away, and I was in a dark place at that time,” Troy recalled. “The help from Operation Homefront lifted me.”
Troy joined the Army ROTC when he was in college at Mississippi Valley State University. “A lot of people I admired had served, and I was inspired by the different world they had.”
He served 20 years and worked as a military police commander, earning the rank of major. He was deployed to Iraq from 2003 to 2005 in the early days of Operation Iraqi Freedom. He earned a Bronze Star for his service there as a commander of soldiers who patrolled 12 hours a day, seven days a week.
Troy lives with PTSD and the effects of a leg injury he suffered in Iraq when he was run over by a piece of equipment.
He appreciates Operation Homefront and its donors for honoring and helping service members.
“The help (Operation Homefront) provides is important to my family and all other service members who have served this great country,” he said. “The donors who make this help possible are true patriots.”
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