While honoring and remembering those who have served our country this Memorial Day, Cheryl Turpin recalls growing up in a military family and what it means to her.
“We moved countless times throughout my childhood. It forced us to learn how to get along with people and make friends easily.”
Learning how to get along with others and making friends easily are not the only aspects of growing up in a military family that positively shaped Cheryl Turpin as a person.
“We would help my father polish his boots, we had a very structured response for every time we picked up the phone. I would watch the work required by my mom to hold the house together after every move. That’s including four dogs, three tanks of fish, and a snake.”
Growing up with a father who served in both Korea and Vietnam, Cheryl Turpin learned the importance of civic duty. She not only saw it from the perspective of her father and his service in the military, but also through her mother and the at home work required in military families.
One defining moment that really captured the importance of civic duty to Cheryl Turpin was her father’s funeral. Being handed the folded American flag and watching her father receive full Honors was an eye-opening experience. It showed her what duty to our country really means and the importance of it. This belief in civic duty and the importance that it carries is what pushes Cheryl Turpin in fighting for what is right in our politics.
Show your support and gratitude for our Veterans and those serving in our armed forces by signing this thank you card.