I am so excited that our first feature and post was submitted by our neighbors, The Hydo's. Just think heroes are not just those we see featured in the news or on t.v....they may be your neighbors. Here is the short story of Paul Hydo through the eyes of his wife, Terry:
"I met my true hero 26 years ago as a
junior at Clements High School. He was a junior at Elsik High School and could
not think of anything but getting out of school and joining the Air Force! Most
boys dream of becoming a lawyer, a doctor or an engineer, but Paul dreamed of
serving his country and being the best airman he could be! That dream became an
even bigger reality when after serving 13 years as an Airman and NCO, he
graduated officer candidate school and became known as Lieutenant Hydo! He
wanted to be an officer that put his men first and not his career. That became
apparent to many of his soldiers after several deployments overseas, especially
his last deployment when he helped a group of soldiers that had been wounded
and he held a soldiers insides together all the way into the surgical room! We
have 3 children now and our oldest is about to be a junior in high school and
considering becoming an Air Force pilot once he graduates college. His hero has
instilled those thoughts and beliefs of honor, valor, leadership and putting
GOD and your country first in him and we could not be prouder of that! With that
in mind and the need to be in a teenager’s life as much as possible, after 24
years of service, Paul decided that his children need him here fulltime and
retired. He still has many nights of reliving those fights and sirens
screaming, thus my gratefulness to, The Hero Challenge, for helping support
the Wounded Warrior Organization . These men and
women come home after giving up their time (and sometimes their life) and
become disabled after defending our country! The least we can do is help them
get back on their feet whether it be by giving them food to help feed their
families, a ramp into their home for the wheelchair they are now bound to, or a
new home completely that is paid off and they do not have to worry about how they
will make that next mortgage payment. After serving as an active duty and guard
duty wife so many years and experiencing the aches and pains of trying to make
ends meet while Paul was gone, I totally understand where these young men and
women on the home front are coming from. If you own your own business or work
at a company that offers a military discount to consumers, thank you! If you do
not offer one, please consider this option to help these families. Any amount
that you offer as a discount is that much less that they have to worry about.
So many of these men and woman can go into the “civilian” work force and make
much more than they do working for the government, but they (like my hero)
choose to dedicate their lives to you and I and allowing us to have the
freedoms we have! GOD Bless America and GOD Bless our men and woman in uniform!"
God Bless The Hydo's and God Bless America! If you want to donate to the Wounded Warrior Project please go to www.woundedwarriorproject.org
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