RIDING FREEDOM'S TRAIL  

AMERICA THE BRAVE

The Wild Heart Mustangs™ logo features a strong symbol of something we feel passionate about - the American flag. The freedom that Americans enjoy has never been free. It's been defended and preserved by countless military men and women who've given their time, energy, strength, heart  - and sometimes their lives -  in the name of freedom.

This page is dedicated to those in the military now, and in the past, and to the families who watched, waited and prayed for the safety of their loved ones.  Let us never forget those who have served this great country.  Thank you ALL for your service! 

On this page, you'll find articles about honor, health and healing for the heroes among us, with a section of resources that we hope will help and inspire you. If you have questions that aren't answered here, please let us know and we'll do our best to assist you.
EVERY DAY IS MEMORIAL DAY

This issue of the WILD HEART MUSTANGS™ e-zine is dedicated to the soldiers who protected our freedom
​ in the past and the soldiers who do it now. No word or gesture can ever be enough to express our gratitude to you.
Not only is May the month of Memorial Day, it's also the month of Mother's Day. Some of the unsung heroes of America's military are women. For decades, that meant military wives; nowadays it also means women in military service and deployed to the same dangerous places as male soldiers go. For this year's Memorial/Mother's Day tribute, we want to spotlight the military moms who support their husband's military careers and raise their children in many places all the world over. Sherry Cook shares her memories - and her everlasting ideas and feelings - about being a military mom.

MEMOIRS OF A MILITARY MOM
by Sherry Cook
Hello. My name is Sherry Cook. My husband, Jim, and I have been married for almost thirty years, and we have three beautiful children. Clint, Haley, and Sarah are what military families call "Army brats". Our kids grew up on military bases all over the world. Their father was in the Army for 26 years. CW5 James P. Cook retired on December 1, 2014, after a wonderful career as an Army aviator. 
 
My husband and I both grew up in the rural countryside of West Tennessee. I think we both dreamed of seeing the world when we were kids but never really believed it would happen. We had been married less than two years when Jim joined the Army. I was so proud of him for volunteering to serve our great nation. His first orders after flight school sent our family to Wiesbaden, Germany. We were very excited to be embarking on our first overseas tour. ​
​Proud to be an American Army pilot.
A pasture in our home county in west Tennessee.
Well, fast forward two and a half decades and that first tour had turned into four overseas  assignments, two in South Korea and two in Germany. We were also stationed in Kentucky, Georgia, Alabama, and Texas. I guess you could say that we got to see the world after all, or at least a large portion of it. 
 
I loved being a military spouse. Moving every two to three years became second nature to us. It was hard leaving the friends we had made, but I loved the idea of seeing new places and enjoying new adventures.  I wanted the best for my husband and his career, so if we had to move frequently in order for him to make promotions then I was okay with it. My job was to support him and to take care of the kids, and I took great pride in that. 
 
Being a mother is something I have always loved more than anything. Motherhood can   be very challenging when you have to raise your kids halfway around the world, with a husband deployed, and without the support of grandparents, aunts, uncles, or cousins. My friends and neighbors became my support system. I kept myself busy with volunteer activities with our unit, or at church and the kid's schools to pass the time when my husband had to be away. I really didn't have time to get lonely or homesick. 
Our girls are proud to have a brother in the Air Force.
This is a list of the places we lived during Jim's military service. It's hard for civilians who've never ventured far from their hometown to comprehend this many moves:

​Ft. Rucker, Alabama 1988-1989
Wiesbaden Air Base  Wiesbaden, Germany 1989-1992
Ft. Campbell, KY 1992-1997
Seoul, South Korea 1997-1999
Ft. Campbell, KY 1999-2002
Wiesbaden Air Base Wiesbaden, Germany 2002-2005
Ft. Bliss, TX 2005-2009
Camp Humphreys, South Korea 2009-2011
Hunter Army Airfield Savannah, GA 2011-2014
I have learned over the years that military spouses are a tough breed. The things we have to consider normal may seem difficult to most people. I'm not saying my life has been harder than other people's or that is has been unbearable. Marriage and raising children are tough jobs for anyone. I have loved this life and I have been blessed with a great husband and children. What I am saying is that the military has placed us in some very unusual situations.  I have a long list of experiences I have had to go through and a variety of skills I have acquired thanks to the military way of life. Well, here goes.
  • My first child was born while my husband was in basic training. He was allowed to come home for 1 week to visit and then headed back for five more months of training and living in the barracks. 
  • My children have moved multiple times and changed schools continuously. Two of my three children had to move their Senior year of high school.  None of them ever attended a school longer than three years. 
  • I manage all the finances and paperwork in the house. 
  • I have sold two houses and bought one all on my own. 
  • I was in charge of disciplining the children as well. My husband said he didn't want to come home after long trips away and have to be the bad guy. 
  • I can speak a little bit of several languages. I know just enough to shop, eat, and find a toilet!
  • I am a very light packer. I can pack enough for three days in a large purse. 
  • The longest my husband has ever been deployed was 15 months. He was sent to Iraq our last tour in Germany. He did get to come home for 10 days for a mid-tour leave.  Our children were 15, 8, and 7 when he left. This was the most difficult thing we ever had to endure as a family.
  • We have lived in places where we have had to have our vehicles checked for bombs each time we entered.
  • Keeping a bag with passports and important documents, several days worth of clothing and food, and cash were advised in case of the need to evacuate due to imminent danger. It's always good to be prepared. 
  • A current will and power of attorney are staples that a military spouse must have on hand at all times. 
  • Many, many birthdays, anniversaries, and major holidays have either been completely missed by husband, or they have been rescheduled to later dates. 
  • I am more comfortable in airports and train stations than the local Walmart.
  • I have worried about my husband's safety more than I have wanted to over the years. Each time they leave you wonder if that is the last time you will ever see them.    
  • I have worried about my children just as much over the years.  Each time we moved I prayed that they would make friends quickly. There were many tears and heartaches over the years. 
  • The moves were difficult, but my family and I were able to see things that would not have been possible otherwise. We have climbed the Great Wall of China, watched a Harry Potter movie in a London movie theater, bought handmade pottery in Poland, learned to use chopsticks in South Korea, seen the windmills in Holland, and viewed the castles on the banks of the Rhine River in Germany. 
Jim and I, as well as the kids, loved the military life. We loved the people, the places, and especially the job my husband was doing. My son is now a meteorologist in the Air Force, and the girls are college students. Jim is flying for a med-evac company in the area, and I am just trying to get to know the people in my hometown once again. 
Leaving Germany in 2005
On April 16, 2013, Jim swore in our son Clint,
​who is now an Air Force meteorolo​gist.
​Our son Clint was born in northwest Tennessee, while Jim was in basic training, and the girls were born at the base hospital in Fort Campbell, Kentucky. Throughout our life as a military family, we lived in military housing. In Germany we lived in what was called a stairwell. Six apartments in each stairwell. The last time we were stationed in Germany our apartment was just across the street from the Rhine River. It was nice because we could walk over and there was a path to walk on or ride a bike. 

The first time we were stationed in Korea we lived in the middle of Seoul. Ten million people live in Seoul! Twelve lanes of traffic could be seen from our apartment building. It was quite noisy all hours of the day. We had everything we needed behind those gates. We had a gym, a library, a commissary and small PX, a video store, food court, and a church. The only thing we didn't have was a medical clinic. Despite the convenience of life on base, we ventured out into the city quite a bit. We were always curious about the cities and countries where we were posted. Seoul was a safe city and getting around was easy with taxis and the subway.

The last time we were there we lived about an hour from Seoul, in a very rural area. Our base had schools, clinics, and everything we needed. We could take a taxi to Pyeongtaek and take the train to Seoul and be there in a flash. We lived in a high rise apartment on base with underground parking. It was a new building and it was very nice for Army living. The weather was brutal there so it was nice to be able to park in a garage and take an elevator to your apartment. 
​Jim and I at a train station near the DMZ (Demilitarized Zone) between North and South Korea. In theory, both North and South Korea agreed in 1953 to withdraw all military personnel and activity from the DMZ, but the DMZ area is one of the most heavily-militarized regions in the world. 
​One of the talents we all acquired in South Korea is the skill of eating with chopsticks. Even here at home in Tennessee, we often use chopsticks at home.
Climbing the Great Wall of China.
Honoring Jim's retirement from the 
​Army ​on December 1, 2014.

LEST WE FORGET...
by Jean McMillan

Memorial Day will arrive this month. It's an important day to me, among millions of other Americans. So is Veteran's Day. But grateful recognition of the military, active or not, is important every single day.

Both of my parents were veterans, and the friends they'd met and made during their military service surrounded us through out my life. In that kind of atmosphere, respect for the military was a given. My mother, a Coast Guard Communications Officer, was a great storyteller in her civilian life, so I grew up hearing World War II stories, some of them funny, some of them sad. When she served as the leader of my Brownie Scout troop, she had us marching column right, column left. She expected "Yes, sir," in response to her commands. Heaven only knows what stories my fellow Brownie Scouts took home from those meetings. It was all routine to me. So I always knew in a general way that the Coast Guard was important to Mom, but 50 years passed before I truly understood how deeply significant the military was for her. 

When Alzheimer's stole most of her mind, I applied to the VA for permission to administer Mom's VA benefits. They sent a representative (a veteran himself) to interview us. I told Mom that the visitor was from the VA and let him speak. It took only a few minutes' conversation for her dementia to prove its damage and the necessity of my role as her custodian, but the VA officer went on chatting. I suspect it was because he was too polite, and too nice, to do a hit-and-run style interview. Finally he got up to leave. His parting words to Mom, and the expression on her face as she heard them, are burned into my mind forever.

He said simply, "Mrs. McMillan, I want to thank you for your service to our country."

Mom's 90-year-old face, so dear to me despite its lines and wrinkles and usually befuddled expression, instantly woke up from the weird nightmare her life had become, and her smile lit up her entire being. She was no longer the lost soul I'd been trying to take care of. She absolutely beamed because this nice man had reached through the terrible, tangled mess of dementia and touched a true and essential part of her. I couldn't speak, but she told him how nice it was to meet him while I held her hand and he bade us farewell.

​Within minutes, the dementia took over again as Mom began to tell me what her mother (dead for over 20 years) had said to her while they were out grocery shopping that morning. It hurt to see the confabulation return, but it was glorious to have watched the recognition of her military service reach deep, deep into her and bring the Lieutenant alive again.

But...that's not the end to the story. This is a story that has no end, because every single moment of every single day, a soldier somewhere is guarding our freedom. And that soldier, every soldier, past and present, deserves to be remembered every single day. I entreat you: please, please, never forget what my mother and father and countless others have done and sacrificed and accomplished for our country, against odds no one could ever have imagined.

DEDICATIONS ARE WELCOME HERE
​at any time
​

RESOURCES for VETERANS

Previous Issues of Wild Heart Mustangs™ with programs for veterans can be viewed here:

January Issue - "Horses Bring Peace to a Soldier's Heart"
                                  Freedom Farm for Vets
                        
February Issue - Saratoga War Horse
                                   Veterans Healing Farm

March Issue - Mustang Mentors for Veterans Program

April Issue - Heroes & Horses