My Dad, Bienvenido Quintero Padilla, was ranked E-4 or a Specialist in the Army and served 4 years in the army and 2 years in the National Guard. He was deployed in Iraq in 2005 and had multiple purposes. He was a mechanic and was apart of the infantry.

After my Dad was injured my Mom had told us that we were moving to America. That meant leaving my Grandma, my uncle, close friends, and cousins. The goodbye was the worst, most of everyone there was crying. My older siblings and I have never been to America so we were scared. Moving from the Philippines to America was the only time we had actually moved for military reasons.

Being in a military family to me means having pride and being brave. To be able to make the decision that you want to serve for your country and having a ton of pride in your country and your family. That you put everything on the line for your country.

What makes me feel strong about having a Dad in the military is that he fought in a war and he came back.  He helped his fellow comrades come back home.