Delaware's National Guard and Air Guard Members: Serving in Afghanistan, Iraq and Kuwait

Delaware’s heroes are not just the ones deployed overseas. The others are holding down the forts at home.

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Rachael Carey has taken advantage of some of the Yellow Ribbon programs for her and her four daughters. In addition to Claudia, there is Alexis, 18, Victoria, 8, and 5-year-old MaryBeth.

The Careys are a close-knit family, and photos of the six of them are scattered throughout their house on a cul-de-sac in one of Seaford’s upscale neighborhoods. The girls obviously miss their father, and Rachael must be both mom and dad. “Sometimes,” she says, “the younger ones all want to talk at once. And at night they want to climb in bed with me. I can’t snuggle with all three. But with lots of help from Alexis, we’re handling it.”

Emailing from Kandahar, her husband agrees. “They have been so incredibly strong through all this. I am just amazed at how they are thriving. In fact, all three of my youngest daughters just got all A’s on their report cards. We were very proud of them.”