Selfless, Sacrificial Duty

The Spring Semester of 2019 seemed to begin like any other at Celina High School. Emerging from the fog of the Christmas holidays, students returned to their classes to plow through the seemingly endless days that would eventually wind their way to Spring Break. Life seemed normal as local activities, college visits, and spring sports soon filled the calendars as everyone awaited the annual rite of passage enjoyed by students and teachers everywhere.

During that same semester, an unprecedented news story was taking shape and building some momentum. In early reports, the events were unfolding on the other side of the world and seemed to have no bearing to folks in Celina, Texas. Yet the story kept morphing. Soon, this unknown virus that gutted villages in China and throughout Asia was now reported in the United States. Suddenly, people here paid attention. When Spring Break finally arrived, it would tragically signal the end to the “normal” that students had always known. Shockingly, it would signal the end to the school year, sports, arts, and life as everyone knew it.

During those long days and eternal weeks when the world stood still, six Celina juniors were watching the events unfold and were thinking about their future. Their junior year came and went, and their senior experience would also be dramatically impacted. Unbeknown to the others, these six students wrestled with life during a pandemic and life beyond the pandemic, should normalcy ever return. At different times, yet in shockingly similar fashion, all would land at the same conclusion and embrace the same calling. While today the world seems somewhat back to normal, for these six Celina Bobcats from the Class of 2020 and their families, their worlds would never be the same.

Here at home, despite Celina’s exponential growth, class sizes are still relatively small in comparison to surrounding communities. So, when a class has six students that voluntarily enlist to serve in the United States Armed Forces, the impact is noticeable. Celina ISD Superintendent Dr. Tom Maglisceau stated, “The fact that these six students emerged from a challenging season with a call and duty to serve this country is something for which I will forever be proud and grateful. These six Celina Bobcats from the Class of 2020, and all of our former students serving in the United States Military, should be highly honored in our community and throughout this great nation and wherever they serve. Their sacrifice and service, although challenging for family members and friends who often miss their presence, is one of the most noble, honorable, and selfess duties to which a young person can commit their lives.”

“Bryson was planning to go to school and play basketball,” said Celina resident and Bryson’s mom, Chandra Brown. “I’ll never forget when he pulled me aside one day and said, ‘Mama, I’ve got something to tell you.’ I immediately knew what he was going to tell me; I just knew. And I also knew our response didn’t matter. It was a done deal. He was going to the Army.”

The story was similar for the Cromwell family and to the others. “Late in his junior year, Carston still had no idea what he wanted to do,” said Celina resident and Carston’s mom, Melissa Cromwell. “He had decided to just go to school locally, because he just didn’t know what he wanted to do. One day, he came home and said he had visited with a Marine recruiter and said he was going to be a Marine.”

The families of the young men and women from Celina who currently have members in the service, quickly realized the less-than-shiny side of military life. An empty chair at holidays, birthday celebrations, and other life moments still hurts the hearts of the loved ones missing their presence. The long days when their sons and daughters are in training or engaged in other exercises that prevent their ability to communicate cause unbelievable, but often unspoken periods of duress. Carston Cromwell’s mother would often look to her Life360 account to see where he might be. She shared, “A parent can’t imagine the feeling of looking at Life360 only to find the message ‘No Location Found,’ and that went on for weeks.”

They keep shrines in their homes adorned with countdowns until their next expected visits, their parents share through tears. Parents and grandparents anxiously hope their loved one can come home for Christmas. At times, they can go weeks and weeks without hearing their voices, a reminder that should weigh heavily on everyone back home. Celina Mayor Sean Terry, whose son graduated with these six servicemen, stated, “As we prepare to gather and celebrate the upcoming holidays, we should be especially mindful of the sacrifices these families make while those they love are away protecting our nation and America’s interests around the world. We can take time to thank these families, to encourage them, and to remember to pray for these Celina kids who may not get to be home for Christmas.”

Early in their service, these military families had to rely heavily on encouragement and prayers. The pandemic had a dramatic impact on their ability to visit their sons and daughters. Bases were quarantined. Ceremonies were virtual. Parents wanting to hug their child had to wait. With communications sparce during their early days of service, the impact compounded. Soon, however, restrictions loosened. Finally, these six families got to see their kids. For the Browns, it meant they got to go to Fort Benning for graduation. The Cromwells drove to Pensacola during Snowmageddon 2022. On that particular journey, they sat still on Interstate 20 from 7:00 at night until 9:00 in the morning in temperatures below zero, as traffic was stopped. In the end, it didn’t matter. They would soon see their son.

Each of these families took the first chance to unite. Now, to the joy of their families and friends, those in uniform have been able to come home to Celina. Those emotional reunions that many people tearfully watch online have become personal and real to these six families and all the others. Through tears, and sometimes laughter, the hugs finally happened. “Bryson had scheduled to come home, but he called and said that growing tensions in Europe meant no travel. I was so sad. I didn’t even want to decorate for Christmas,” Brown shared. “On Friday, December 17th, we drove to Denison to get our boosters just in case we would be able to go to Georgia and see him. When we got back, we opened the door and Bryson was standing there. He had totally pulled one over on us, but I didn’t care. My baby was home.”

Home. It is the goal of each of these, and all military families, as the holidays quickly approach. Some will make it this year; others will have to wait. In Celina, residents will anxiously wait to welcome home these who the Mayor designates, “The men and women from Celina who are currently serving in our military really are our modern-day heroes.” At a recent gathering of some Celina military parents, they were asked, despite how hard life can be to be separated from their kids, would they change it if they could. In unison and at a resounding level, with misty eyes, they said, “No!” “If he’s happy, we are happy,” said Cromwell. Brown added, “He’s where he needs to be.”