"He went to take the place of his wife"

[kpete]

IGTNT: "He went to take the place of his wife"
by joyful
Sun Apr 13, 2008 at 04:03:30 PM PDT

"It doesn't matter who my father was; it matters who I remember he was." ~ Anne Sexton

Seven young children lost their daddies this past Wednesday. Please join me and the IGTNT team as we honor Staff Sgt. Jesse A. Ault and Spc. Jacob J. Fairbanks.

Please help me give these children something wonderful to remember them by.

Staff Sgt. Jesse A. Ault of Dublin, Virginia

"When are you ever going to ask me out on a date - alone??"

Those were the words that started the love affair that ended on April 9th 2008 when an IED struck 28-year-old Jesse Ault's vehicle convoy south of Baghdad.

Jesse Ault and Betsy Allen met in training camp in 2002. Thrown together daily by the military's practice of alphabetizing people by their last names, Betsy finally demanded to know when the man who seemed to like her so much would finally make his move. The couple dated through training camp and their first deployment in 2004 to Balad, Iraq.

On their return from Iraq, and in love with Betsy and her 5-year-old son Nathan, Jesse told Betsy that that he wanted a child of his own. They married on her father's front steps, and baby Adam arrived soon afterwards.

Jesse left the National Guard soon after their return, but Betsy remained on active duty with her unit and was notified that she would be returning to Iraq in early 2007.

There's really only one thing we need to know and celebrate about this man:

"Jesse loved our family so much and saw how important it was for me to stay with my sons. He joined the National Guard again to take my place on the deployment."

The love of his family trumped all else, including the danger of a repeated tour. Jesse Ault re-enlisted and took his wife's place in line.

The very day his unit arrived in Kuwait, Betsy Ault found out she was pregnant with their third child. Staff Sgt. Ault was allowed emergency leave to welcome their daughter Rachel into the world this past January.

"He called me every day when he was Iraq, even the day he died. He would always ask how his 'little man' and 'baby doll' were doing.

"I want you to know Jesse Ault," said his wife. "When he was not in uniform, he was 100% family. That was what meant the most."

more at:
http://www.wsaz.com/news/headlines/17561219.html
http://dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/4/13/152734/639/341/494940

[Fireweed247]

1. This is just horribly sad

:cry:

[Brigid]

2. Yet another heartbreaking story from Iraq.

:cry:

How many more, Mr. Bush? How many more? Oh, right -- you let Cheney answer that one already, and I quote: "So?" :banghead: