her sister . After graduating high school in 1999 , Walden wasn ’ t sure what she wanted to do with her life , so when her brother , who had joined the Army just three years prior , convinced her to speak with an Army recruiter , she was on board .
“ My brother saw that in me , that there was something greater and I ’ m glad he talked me into it ,” Walden said .
Walden joined the Army on September 29 , 1999 . Following basic training , Walden was stationed in Germany where she spent two years and then she was off to New York .
At 22 , Walden became a single mother with orders from the Army to go to
Korea . She had to make the difficult decision to leave her 8-month-old daughter with her parents who had moved to London , Kentucky with their own dreams of living on a farm .
“ I couldn ’ t take her ,” Walden said . “ It was an 18-month tour . I kept asking ‘ when can I go stateside ?’ and they said they ’ d send me somewhere else and I ’ d say ‘ well I need time to build my relationship back up with my daughter .’”
Walden ended up spending three years in Korea but would come back to the states to visit her daughter when she got vacation time . And while it was rough being away for so long , Walden knew she
PHOTO CONTRIBUTED Laura Walden served 20 years in the Army . After eight years of traveling , Walden made the decision to stay home with her daughter and began working full-time at the Army National Guard in London .
THANKING OUR VETERANS
FOR THEIR SERVICE , THEIR SACRIFICE , THEIR COURAGE AND THEIR DEDICATION , WE SALUTE THE MEN AND WOMEN WHO HAVE SERVED AND CONTINUE TO SERVE THIS COUNTRY AS MEMBERS OF OUR ARMED FORCES .
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