I joined the Army later than most. I was 26, a single mother of two boys, working as a nurse in Chicago. I drove in for my day shift the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, and walked in see the second tower hit. The next day I went to the Air Force recruiting office. They told me I’d have to wait three years. Nope. I wanted to do something now. I came into the Army as a private first class and went to Iraq, Afghanistan and many other places in support of global war on terrorism. My great-uncles served in Korea, my grandfather served in World War II and my father served in Vietnam. Both my sons are serving, and my husband is retired. My grandmother was a WAC during World War II. Service means something in my family.

Angel Faulkner, Col. Billie J. Holmes Memorial Post 331