Vanessa Rohall:

Twenty-one years of service. Multiple deployments for Operation Iraqi Freedom(OIF). Countless weeks away from the family. Senior Vanessa Rohall watched her now-retired father fight for freedom.

“It’s taught me to be happy with what I have. He has told me multiple stories of him being over in Iraq and the little girls and boys have next to nothing,” Rohall said.

Rohall grew up around the tight-knit community that develops when family members are in the service.

“It was really cool [growing up around the service], I got to go to a lot of different events. There was always a really fun Christmas party that Selfridge held for all the army families,” Rohall said. “I made a lot of friends through it.”

Morgan Goethals:

The chain swinging against her as she plays catch with the very man whose name is imprinted in  the cold metal.

Through softball games, late nights studying and road trips, senior Morgan Goethals is never without her father’s dog tag.

For her the dog tag isn’t just a chain. It represents the hardships her and her family went through when her dad was overseas.

For her the dog tag has taken her from the day he gave it to her when she was just six years old.

For her the dog tag is her “lucky charm.”