Green Hills Memorial Cemetery not only honored fallen veterans, they honored the ones who lost them or was left behind for a period of time – their wives.

Aylene Locklar, Joyce Dix, Dinah Kelsey and Bonnie Tillery Pope shared their stories of worry, support and even some laughs in their journeys of being wives of men who served.

“I appreciate being a military wife,” Dix said. “I saw the pride in [my husband] every time he put on his uniform. People who have not had a military family member or friend in the military do not understand what that uniform means – the pride, the love of country, the patriotism and the calling to serve and to protect our United States of America. They stand tall and have respect for what others have done in war.”

Dix is married to Jesse Dix, a US Navy veteran. She said she was lucky to not have known what it was like to send her husband off to war. The longest they were ever separated was two months.

“There are so many wives that have been separated from their husbands for months and months,” Dix said. “Now there is more of an opportunity to see their husbands or wives through the Internet and be in better contact with them.”

Some wives traveled along with their husbands, such as Locklar. When her husband, Wayne, was transferred to Morocco, she worked for DOD teaching English as a foreign language.

“We were very privileged to have this opportunity to learn about the Navy life and the different cultures that we were exposed to,” Locklar said. “We enjoyed our time in the Navy, and Wayne continues to have a heart to serve our country.”

Other wives lost their husbands because of their service. Kelsey’s wife, Michael, served for six and a half years, but developed Parkinson’s disease as a result of his service.

“My role as a serviceman’s wife was elevated to a caregiver of a veteran,” Kelsey said. “All the while, I was by his side. Now he is an honorable serviceman in God’s army.”

Tillery and her husband, George, did not marry until nine years after service as a Marine in the Vietnam War. Tillery’s husband suffered from mental and physical health problems caused by Agent Orange and unknowingly suffered from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). As a result of the Agent Orange, their daughter was diagnosed with cancer and their grandson was born with cancer. Both are survivors.

“My family sacrificed a lot,” Tillery said. “I want to honor George. He volunteered to fight for this country that we love. He was a good man with a good heart. He was a warrior.”

K.T. Cole represented the Military Order of Purple Heart Chapter 2205-Montgomery at the ceremony. Cole served in the US Marine Corp.

“I admire what these women had to go through,” Cole said. “They tell the real story about what happens when we go over seas didn’t think about what I put my wife through.”

Cole said that the unknown is the real fear. The wives have to go through the horror of wondering whether their husbands are dead or alive.

“My job was simple,” Cole said. “I had to kill them before they killed me. I salute [the wives] because their job was much tougher than ours.”