I have been geocaching for about 12 years now and in my early days I made a lot of great friends. Some have moved away, stopped caching or passed on to the great GZ in the sky. As luck would have it a select few have stuck around and enriched my life even if they don't cache much anymore. A couple of months ago I got a message from Bonnie letting me know that her wife Dayna would be retiring from the military and wanted to extend an invite to me.
Dayna had risen to the rank of First Sargent after 34 years in the Army. Twenty of those years she served in a fire brigade and she recently returned after yet another tour oversees. All of deployments and service demands interrupted her ability to geocache but that doesn't mean it didn't have a major impact on their lives. Bonnie and Dayna met at the local Geocaching picnic and soon hit it off. Caching under the aliases "Chia" they seemed to be everywhere grabbing FTFs and popping out caches all over the Northland.
After donning her uniform officially for the last time this week she was the woman of honor today. After dedicating so much of her life to serving others was overjoyed to see friends and family come together to show love and respect. We met several life long members of her military family and saw a heartwarming collection of memories. I for one and immensely proud of her and excited to have her back in the caching community. I know her wife will be happy to have her home safe and sound. Dayna, thank you for all you've done for your country. You are a true hero.
5/22/2021
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