Parents have three reasons to be proud today
Timothy and Rachelle Kilgore have triple the reason to be proud as the nation observes Veterans Day today. The Farmington couple has three sons serving on active duty in the military.
Sgt. Timothy Kilgore, 24, of the Marines is stationed at Folsom Marine Reserve Base outside Philadelphia. He has served two tours in Iraq and was awarded the Bronze Star for his service there.
Airman 1st Class James Kilgore, 22, is stationed with the Air Force at Dyess Air Force Base in Abilene, Texas. He also has served a tour in Iraq.
Cpl. Stephen Kilgore, 21, is stationed with the Army, currently serving his second tour in Iraq as a combat engineer.
Mrs. Kilgore said, “They’re protecting our country. I’m worried about them constantly but I take it one day at a time. I pray for them. I pray for all the men and women stationed over there. I have a lot of friends who have family over there. I’m proud of all the men and women serving their country.’
So is the brothers’ younger sister, Kristen, 17, a senior at Uniontown Area High School.
“She’s very protective of her brothers,’ said Mrs. Kilgore, noting that Kristen appeared on WTAE-TV Channel 4 news in Pittsburgh to talk about her brothers about a year ago.
Kristen said, “I’ve my proud of my brothers, but it’s hard emotionally with all of them in the service, especially when one is serving in Iraq as Stephen is now.’
All three of the brothers enlisted in the armed forces after graduating from Uniontown Area High School. Timothy graduated in 1999, James in 2001 and Stephen in 2002.
“It’s something we all decided on,’ said Timothy, interviewed by telephone at his job. “I was the first one and started a chain reaction.’
“All three chose something different and that surprised us,’ said Mrs. Kilgore. “Timmy was 17 when he went in. He turned 18 in boot camp. They all went right in after school. They made their minds up. They all chose a branch that was different.’
And each of them has been in Iraq.
Timothy said he was in Iraq from March through May 2003 and from February through September 2004. He said James served in Iraq from September 2004 to February 2005. Stephen was in Iraq from January through July 2003 and went back this past June. The Kilgores do not know when Stephen will return home.
“They won’t give us an exact time frame,’ Timothy said.
Although the brothers spent some of the same time in Iraq, they never saw each other. But they were able to get together this past September when the brothers all came home to celebrate Stephen’s engagement to Alyssa Agovino of Springfield, Pa. The couple plans to marry in 2007.
“We spent a couple of days in Farmington and a couple of days in Philadelphia,’ said Timothy. “Stephen had two weeks R&R leave and my brother came home from Texas, along with my best friend Mark Appleby, who is in the Army in Tennessee. Mark just came home from Iraq. (Kristen noted Appleby’s wife, Liz, is in Iraq now.) I hadn’t seen Stephen for a year and a half and hadn’t seen Jimmy for probably six to eight months.’
Mrs. Kilgore said it had been a little more than two years since the family had all been home together.
The family keeps in touch as they can through e-mail, letters and phone calls.
“Contact from home makes you feel better,’ said Timothy.
Letters from the public also help, with Timothy noting that cards from schoolchildren often are distributed to servicemen and servicewomen who receive little mail.
Asked about the war, Timothy said, “It wasn’t something I planned on doing but I signed up for this. I was ready.’
He’s also proud of the U.S. servicemen and servicewomen in Iraq, commenting, “It’s something we have to take care of.’
Asked about his brothers, Timothy said, “I worry about them but they’re both big kids and they can take care of themselves.’
He noted that when people find out he’s one of three brothers in the military, they are usually amazed and ask, “How does your mom deal with this?’
Mrs. Kilgore explained that friends help: “A lot of friends are afraid to upset me.
“Some days I don’t want to talk and some days I do want to talk.’
On Veterans Day, Kristen will be marching in the parade in Connellsville and Mrs. Kilgore is encouraging people to show their patriotism.
“To support America – period,’ she said. “Support them and tell them to do their best at whatever they do.
“I know a lot of people don’t support the war but you have to support the people over there. I wish them a safe homecoming.’