Military couples you knew in your early married days came to Arlington decades later when you were finally able to lay your husband’s remains to rest. Can you talk about what the “military family” has meant to you?
Tyra: “My husband Larry grew up in a military family. His dad was a Chief Master Sergeant in the Air Force, and Larry wanted to be a pilot since he was seven and living on the base in Japan. The military family became my family, my bedrock, when we married. It was there to support me when he was deployed and I struggled mightily with depression and loneliness. The military family rallied behind me when Larry was killed in Vietnam, while I was hospitalized at the Menninger Clinic, and in the years after while I raised our daughter as a single mom. Even though Larry was gone, I went to the base every week to do my shopping because it felt like going home. And when Larry’s remains finally came home 35 years later, our military family was there to celebrate that I was able to keep that one last promise to him.
The inspiration for my book has always been to highlight the struggles of families who lose loved ones in war. But all of us lose people we love in one way or another. While my memoir doesn’t soft-pedal the trials and challenges of living in the aftermath of
horrific losses, depression, or addiction, it emphasizes that we can move forward. Mine is a story of hope, of believing there is a power greater than any of us that can help us heal if we are willing to embrace the opportunities placed in our path. Throughout my life that spiritual power has provided people who helped me and believed in me.”
To learn more about Tyra’s story of loss, resilience, and hope, as well as her book Where the Water Meets the Sand, visit her website. All photos courtesy Tyra Manning.
