When honoring those in the Armed Services, we also have to honor their spouses. These women and men put up with moving frequently, handling the homefront during deployments, and knowing that the plane that is lost could be the one on which his/her spouse serves. As Mississippi University for Women is in the same town as a pilot-training Air Force base, many alumnae have married pilots or support personnel and begun the adventure of beginning or joining a military family. One such alumna is Sarah Beeler Golden, class of 2002.
Sarah, a history major and Spanish minor, was president of the Mam'selle Social Club, Masker #1, a member of Hottentots, the Honors Program, and the Spanish Club, and served as Senior Class Cheerleader.
She and her husband, Major Barrett Golden, United States Air Force, who is currently a C-130J Instructor Pilot, initially met at the Sports Page in Columbus. Sarah told us, "I was in my senior year of college and he was at Columbus Air Force Base for pilot training. We had mutual friends and also established a friendship. Our groups of friends hung out for several months and eventually he asked me out. That was November 2001. We have been together since then. We were married in November 2003 and are expecting our first child in August of this year."
When asked what she saw as the advantages and disadvantages of being a military spouse, Sarah replies, "While there are lots of hard things about being a military spouse, like the continuous moving or deployments, I believe the positives definitely outweigh the negatives. We have both had opportunities to see things and experience things we would not have otherwise. And the Air Force is a small community. We have friends all over the world to visit!"
Every couple has stories to tell their children, and the Goldens are no different. Here is one they'll be telling: "My husband recently returned home from his fifth deployment overseas. We found out I was pregnant just before he deployed. We were both emotional, what with this being our first child, and we knew he would miss a lot. But he got to 'be there' on the day of the gender ultrasound via Skype. So from Bagram, Afghanistan, he was able to Skype my doctor's office (the staff were amazingly supportive and helpful and excited for us) and join us for the ultrasound to find out we were having a baby girl. That was a great day and one we will definitely remember a long time!"
"I am so proud of my husband and his fellow service members," she adds. "They make so many sacrifices and do it out of love and pride for their country. I am also very proud to be a military spouse and proud to raise my daughter in this life."
Sarah, our country is blessed to served by men like Barrett, and he is blessed to be supported by you!
No comments:
Post a Comment