Karen & Alexander
“Trust and communication were essential. We endured 3 deployments, 24 months apart, missed birthdays and holidays.”
Our love story begins, the summer after we graduated high school, in 2011. I met Alexander in Fort Worth, TX through mutual friends. I was preparing to leave for the Navy early 2012, and he was heading to college.
By the time I left, our friendship had kindled into young love. I got stationed in Japan and was away for an entire year.
While I was away, Alex had changed careers and joined the Army! Before Alex headed off to basic training, he came to Japan to profess his love. It was literally like a movie! He was stationed in Oklahoma, 6,000 miles away from me but we made it work.
Long distance military relationships are not easy.
Japan is 15 hours ahead of Oklahoma, so we had to find the perfect schedule to be able to communicate with each other. We would video chat through several social media platforms. Our relationship was tough and at times, turbulent. Trust and communication were essential. We endured 3 deployments, 24 months apart, missed birthdays and holidays. In 2018, after Alex finished his service, we moved in together and adopted 2 fur babies. Then in December, Alex asked me to be his wife! I was honorably discharged in 2019 and we moved to Denton, TX to study at the University of North Texas. While we were saving for our dream wedding, we found out about the “Weddings for Warriors” giveaway and quickly applied. We are truly honored to be a part of this.
