LOUISVILLE, Ky. — It’s not just members of the military who serve and make sacrifices. Their families often serve and sacrifice along with them. And, with the repeal of the “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” policy in 2011, the families that support our troops are changing.
Jonathon Raley and Dr. Dennis Cornell were married in 2014, six months after Dennis commissioned into the Army as an officer. Together, the two have two children, Maura and Max.
“I will never forget the day he came in and told me that he was going to be deployed,” Raley recounted. “I thought he was joking.”
Cornell would go on to spend a year serving a deployment in Kuwait and Iraq as a Captain.
Raley, who serves as director of philanthropy at Gilda’s Club Kentuckiana, spent the year serving in a different way, one familiar to many military families.
“It was hands-down the toughest year of my life,” he said. “I was trying to be strong for everybody. I think it’s also one of those falls of just being a man. You feel like you have to be tough. You have to be strong. Everybody knows that I can cry at the drop of a hat but, I had to put my big boy shoes on and stand up and put some of that stuff to the side."
Raley said while his husband was away, he found himself left to managing a challenging and demanding work schedule, along with two kids.
He pointed out that it wasn’t always pretty- but it was a mission accomplished.
Cornell returned to the U.S. in January 2020.
In an emotional reunion, he was welcomed home by a host of friends and family at Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport.
Raley is aware that many military families don’t have the privilege of being able to welcome home their loved ones after a deployment.
He’s also aware that representation matters in a changing world.
“It’s important because a lot of folks take for granted that there are different groups of people than maybe the way they look, or the way they live their lives, or where they go to church, or who they hang out, that are serving our military to protect our country,” Raley said.
Cornell finished his military career in early 2022 and received his Doctrine in Social Work from the University of Kentucky in May.
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