It’s important to honor those who serve our country, but it’s also important to recognize the challenges that their families and children make to support their service men and women. April is the “Month of a Military Child” and highlights the sacrifices military children take on throughout their lives.
In Riviera ISD alone there are 47 and counting military children. That makes up 10.6% of the school’s population. Riviera ISD was awarded a Purple Heart Award this year because of its commitment to honoring and supporting those in the line of duty as well as their families.
Sixth grader Christopher Pena is a military child who is currently enrolled at De La Paz Middle School in Riviera. His dad is a mechanic for the Marines and is out on deployment in California. Pena said because his dad was out on deployment for three to nine months at a time, he missed out on a lot.
“He missed a lot of my birthdays and very important parts of my life. I don’t know a lot of stuff that you guys might know. I don’t know how to fish, I don’t know how to hunt. I didn’t get to play games with him, play sports, anything because he was always gone,” Pena said.
Pena is only 12 years old and has moved five times. He said he was homeschooled since first grade and Riviera is only the second public school he’s attended, which makes making friends hard.
“I’m a very nervous and shy person because I’m not really around people that much. I didn’t have a lot of friends,” Pena said.
Sixth grader Madison Thierry said she can relate to moving around a lot. She said she’s moved seven times.
“I’ve moved from Florida, Georgia… we’ve been to Maryland, Texas,” Thierry said.
Her dad is also a mechanic in the military. Her family moved to Riviera seven months ago. Her dad is currently back from deployment.
“My dad missed my birthday, my sister being born… it was just chaos in the house because my dad wasn’t there. I don’t really know about sports as much as you all would but now that he’s back from deployment he’s been showing me how to play sports. I like playing softball and volleyball now,” Thierry said.
Although Thierry’s dad is back with his family now, Thierry said she knows it’s only for a bit.
“It’s still not easy when he leaves, but I just got used to it to the point where I will understand and be fine with it,” Thierry said.
She said she wants to follow in her father’s footsteps and maybe join the military when she’s older to help our country and travel. And although moving around isn’t the easiest sacrifice, she said it helps to be in a school surrounded by others who can relate.
“We talk a lot and we tell each other what it’s like being a military child and where we’ve been and what we’ve done,” Thierry said.
For other military children, like 8th grader Jaymie Ten Cate, the military move from Hawaii where she was born and raised was a team effort.
“I’m very proud of my mom. She’s been through a lot and I know it wasn’t easy because when my dad wasn’t there after my sister was born, she had three kids and still had to work,” Cate said.
Cate said as a family, the move a year ago was pretty rough. They left a lot of extended family behind to move to a new state. She said her sister and brother love going to school at Riviera ISD. She also feels like she has more opportunities herself in a smaller town, especially in basketball.
“We know that my dad loved being in the military and we supported it. Even though wasn’t there for certain birthdays, we were going to support him. I’m proud of my dad,” Cate said.
All three military children shared that despite the sacrifices, they are proud of their parents and the sacrifice they made or are making for our country.
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