While in high school, Angela Cherico joined the JROTC program. She experienced different branches of the military in small intervals and discovered that she enjoyed the Marine Corps more than the others. Angela approached her high school graduation with a longing to do something meaningful and profound. It was at that point when she decided to enlist with the Marines.
Angela completed her Basic Training at Parris Island in South Carolina. Her Active Duty began in 2002 when she was stationed in Okinawa, Japan. She specialized in Aviation Supply & Logistics. After one year, Angela was transferred to Marine Corps Air Station Miramar in San Diego, California. She also deployed twice to Al-Asad Airbase in Iraq. After four years of sustaining neck and back injuries from Marine Corps martial arts training, breathing problems from exposure to burn-pits, and Post-Traumatic Stress, Angela was honorably discharged in 2006.
“I was discharged earlier than I anticipated, so I was not prepared for the transition back to civilian life,” Angela told us. She stayed in San Diego initially, where she got married and had a daughter. Angela continued explaining, “I stayed home all day because I couldn’t interact with other people. Something like going to the grocery store became a traumatic experience.” Her Post-Traumatic Stress, along with her neck and back pain and breathing problems, made life extremely difficult.
Not much time passed before Angela and her family moved to North Carolina in order to be closer to the rest of their families. Outside of work, Angela focuses the majority of her time and energy on her daughter. When she does have some time to herself, she enjoys crafting. However, Angela still battles with pain on a daily basis. She can barely carry her young daughter.
Angela and her daughter will be moving into their own home in Denver, North Carolina, through Purple Heart Homes’ Veteran Home Ownership Program. When asked what this intervention means to her, Angela tells us, “This means the world. My daughter and I will have two of the most important things: stability and security. Receiving this opportunity is humbling and truly amazing.”
Thank you for your service to our nation, Angela! Welcome to the Purple Heart Homes family!
