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Nov 26, 2009 12:17 am US/Central
Distance Doesn't Keep Army Couple Apart
SEVEN POINTS (CBS 11 / TXA 21) ―
On the day before Thanksgiving, the Mendenhalls of Henderson County are one big happy family. But getting there took a lot of patience.
It all started in 2003 with a simple wedding ceremony near Fort Hood. That's where the two Army soldiers met. After that, their marriage was anything but simple.
"You see it all the time in the Army with married couples. One is gone when the other gets back" says former army mechanic Travis Mendenhall.
Travis and Alexis Mendenhall have been married for more than six years. However, they've spent only six months together. The couple has found some humor in their relationship.
"We're always apart, so we don't have a chance to actually argue and really get mad at each other where someone storms out" says Travis.
In 2003, Travis was deployed to Iraq for one year. When he returned, his wife Alexis was sent to Iraq for four months. When she got back, Travis left for Corpus Christi for six months. While he was there, Alexis left the Army.
From corpus, Travis was shipped off to South Korea. He came back a year later. The breaking point came when Travis was sent back to Iraq for 15 months. He missed the birth of his youngest son.
"I think that was it; the fact that he missed the birth and he didn't meet him (his son) until he was ten months old" says Alexis
Travis was finally discharged earlier this month, but not without some drama. He was at Fort Hood when he got his release papers, the same day a gunman killed 13 people on the post.
"I was just extremely nervous. I was in tears" says Alexis.
Travis describes the day, "I heard the sirens, but didn't think anything about it. I thought it was another drill. Then my phone started ringing."
Travis finally came home the next day. For the first time ever, the entire family will celebrate thanksgiving together at their home in the small town of Seven Points. And it's not hard to guess what they're thankful for.
(© MMX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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