For this season of Veterans' Voices, WYSO is partnering with the southwest Ohio chapter of Blue Star Families, a national nonprofit supporting military families. The theme of this season is the unique challenges faced by family members of those who serve.
Today, we hear from Air Force veteran Dwayne Ezell of Dayton and his wife, Jeanette. In this episode, Jeanette reflects on her experience as a military spouse—her pride, the challenges, and dedication to the life she has built with Dwayne in service to the country.
The following transcript is lightly edited for length and clarity.
Jeanette Ezell: When we first drove through the gate and I saw, you know, you show your I.D. and I'm thinking there is a very small segment of society that's allowed to even be on a military base. And I thought, 'Wow, this is nice.' And to see him in his uniform and to know he was standing up for our country...and so I felt like it was a privilege.
When he told me he would work with missiles and bombs, I thought, 'Oh, how dangerous.' And then, when I went to visit him in tech school, they were literally learning how to build bombs. And I said, 'That's so dangerous. [nervous laughter] I don't know about this, Dwayne.'
The way he just was able to put all of his knowledge that he had, he's a very smart gentleman, able to put that into doing something for our country.
Dwayne Ezell: My supervisors were like, 'We need you to build these things because you do a good job at it.'
And I was like, 'Well...that's true. I know I do a good job at it, and I'm going to do a good job at it.' And the pilots flying out to drop these things, they...they needed these things to hit their targets and...and they did...and um...but I was still kind of shook up about it but my job was... I know I can build these things, and I can build them well. And it was a terrible thing to have to do, but somebody has to do it.
He said, 'I don't have any regrets about my military career. I loved it.'Jeanette Ezell
Jeanette: When Dwayne came home, the newspaper was there. He had interviews. And at that time, people were tying the yellow ribbons on trees and so it was something to celebrate.
He served our country well. And in the process of serving, he um...his health was compromised. Being in the Gulf War was something that is heroic and wonderful, but it's also likely why he's in a wheelchair now. Right after he got back from the Gulf War, many veterans were suffering, and they were saying, 'We call this Gulf War syndrome.'
They couldn't figure out what it is that all these people are going through, but it's so much in common. We don't know that...there are many things to suspect that could have triggered it.
I asked him about it. I said, Dwayne, 'If you had it to do all over again, would you have gone in the military if you knew you would end up with the disease later'?
He said, 'I don't have any regrets about my military career. I loved it.'
And so, at this present time, I'm his wife and his caregiver, and I am pleased to be his caregiver.
Dwayne: And...I love her forever.
Veterans' Voices is supported by Wright-Patt Credit Union.
