In Honor of the 4th of July, Two of My American Heroes

Ellie, age 1, kissing a photo of Daddy.

The first time I met my hubby’s childhood friend John Jacobs, I was at one point hanging upside down from a handrail inside a party bus. 1. Yes – this was BKY (before kids years) and 2. Don’t ask. The next time I met him, he was gushing over his new girlfriend from Oregon State where John was in the USMC’s Marine Enlisted College Education Program (MECEP) and she was on a Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) scholarship.

John and Veronica (a.k.a. Ronni) Jacobs are truly American Sweethearts. Both have served in the military – John on active duty in the USMC for over 16 years and Ronni served 4 years of active duty and is currently on an Individual Ready Reserve (IRR) contract until 2010 (meaning she is subject to involuntary recall and activation). After marrying on June 12, 2004, John was sent to Iraq for the first time just nine days later and Ronni was then sent that August. They returned to the US a month apart in 2005 and were soon pregnant with their first daughter, Mae.

John and Ronni while deployed in 2004.

However, John was sent BACK to Iraq in September of 2005 and did not return until April of 2006, missing the birth of his first child by a month. Fortunately, John was present for the birth of his second daughter, Ellie, born in August of 2007. Having established life back home with his family and working as a school principal, John was then sent back to Iraq for a THIRD time.

Frankly, this was a difficult piece for me to work on because I get emotional not only when I think of my family’s amazing friends John, Ronni, Mae and Ellie (“every few days one of my girls will cry and ask for Daddy”), but of all the men and women still deployed and having to be apart from their families.

Sure, to me, the 4th of July can mean BBQs and beach fun, but in honor of those who protect our freedom, I asked Ronni how John is doing, how she’s doing with two kids (ages 3 and 2) on her own (oh, and she’s currently attending law school!) and the media coverage they received for their non-profit organization, Operation Falcon –started to help John’s Iraqi interpreter and his family get settled in the United States after the couple successfully aided in securing them a Special Immigrant Visa — and the award winning documentary that featured their Read More…