Whimsical September

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Military Love Story: Katie & Matt

I have heard few love stories that are more whimsical than those of my military friends. I always thought that my husband Jamie and I had an extraordinarily bizarre journey to the altar (and beyond), but throughout the last few years I’ve heard countless stories from fellow military couples about their unique (and often unbelievable) course of events that led them to where they are today. I’m thrilled to feature a new story every week in a Monday series called We’re Not So Crazy After All: A Military Love Story. If you’re interested in being featured in this series, please email me at WhimsicalSeptember@yahoo.com.

A combination of modern-day technology and good old fashioned hand-written love letters put Katie and Matt on a fast track for a whirlwind romance. While half a world apart, they fell in love.

Katie vividly remembers meeting Matt at just 14 years old. She was a freshman and he was a junior at their high school in Dayton, Ohio. Matt’s friend had intentions of dating Katie, but he was the one who quickly stole her heart. Their young romance was short lived though, and Matt went off to Army basic training the summer after he graduated from high school. They didn’t speak again for several years.

During Matt’s leave after his AIT graduation (specialization training), the two briefly reconnected.  Katie was now a senior in high school, and 20 year old Matt was gearing up for his first big duty station move to Okinawa, Japan.  They enjoyed their time together as friends and agreed to keep in touch while he lived overseas.

Katie explains that, simply put, they fell in love over Skype. Despite being half a world and half a day time zone apart, the two managed to communicate nearly every single day. Though Katie had her reservations about their online romance, all of their peers predicted wedding bells. She says that she’ll never forget exchanging their first “I love yous” while staring into computer screens.

Immediately following Katie’s graduation, she left for Fort Jackson, South Carolina to attend National Guard basic training. While standing in the receiving area minutes from turning over all electronic communication, she sent him one last text that simply said “I want to marry you”. He quickly responded with “okay” because he wanted to marry her too, and she knew it.

The next eight weeks saw a lot of letter writing. The two letters that stand out in Katie’s mind arrived on the same day – one from Matt and one from her mom. They both hinted that Matt had asked Katie’s mom for her hand in marriage. And you guessed it – He asked her over Skype.

Katie and Matt reunited in Dayton that December, nearly one full year since the last time they’d seen each other in person. After two weeks together in Ohio, Matt pulled off a New Years Eve proposal. She eagerly said yes!

After she said yes, he asked her another serious question. With his flight to Japan just 11 days away, he asked her “Do you want to get married before I go back, or do you want to wait and have a big elaborate wedding later?”

Without hesitation, she said “Let’s get married now!” So on January 9th, while standing in her uncle’s living room surrounded by a dozen of their closest family members, Katie and Matt exchanged vows with their marriage license in hand. She says that the icing on the cake was their wedding day attire – they each donned a pair of blue jeans and flannel shirts. But they were married and elated.

Two days later he went back to Japan and she went back to fulfilling her commitment in the National Guard. They spent the first 11 months of their marriage apart and reunited in Sierra Vista, Arizona at Fort Huachuca this past November.

After six months of living “real married life” together, Matt deployed to Afghanistan for nine months. He is scheduled to return home this February.
Katie is not shy to point out that their first 18 months of marriage has been rocky. She says that as soon as they got to Arizona, they began counseling and fighting hard for their marriage. She says that today she is very happy with her marriage and feels peaceful about where they’re headed. She’s proud of the work they’ve put in to make their marriage last.

For now, she’s counting down the days until she’s reunited with the man she still calls the love of her life – six months to go.
Thank you Katie & Matt for letting me share your story.


More military love stories:
Carrie & Brendan

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