Everyone has a love story, some so unexpected they make fairy tales look predictable. In the military community, love often arrives between TDYs, deployments, PCS moves, and moments where “goodbye” becomes routine. Yet somehow, again and again, love finds its way, often when it’s least expected, almost always right on time. This Valentine’s Day, four couples share how connection, commitment, and a little chaos turned chance meetings into lasting partnerships.
A Rotator Flight, Wild Hair, and a Life-Changing Layover
For Kari Gaffey and Master Seargent Kyle Gaffey of the 54th Helicopter Squadron love began somewhere between Kuwait and Germany at 30,000 feet.
Kari was a flight attendant for Atlas Air, working AMC rotator flights, when she and a friend struck up a conversation with deployed service members heading home. Kyle, then a Senior Airman, was one of them. Snapchats were exchanged so Kari and her friend could “brag” about their upcoming Disneyland Paris adventure while the group remained stuck on the plane.
“I picked on my now-husband a lot,” Kari laughed, remembering how Kyle slept through most of the flight. “His hair was wild and he was sleeping funny.” What began as teasing turned into months of long-distance conversations. After nine months apart, Kari made a life-altering decision. “I decided to hang up my wings and joined him at Cannon AFB,” she said. “Best decision of my life.”
Ten years later, nine of them married, the couple has navigated three PCS moves, raised two children, adopted a dog, and built a life rooted in teamwork.
“And his hair,” Kari added, “is still wild.”
Years, Miles, Airports, and a Love That Never Let Go
Valerie Bowers’ love story with Staff Sergeant Eric Bowers of the 705th MUNS reads like a passport stamped with patience.
Valerie immigrated from Peru at 15, eventually settling in New Mexico. In January 2020, she matched with Eric on Tinder. Their first date included an Italian restaurant, hours of conversation and Eric falling asleep in the movie theater during Dolittle. “That’s when I learned he was born in Florida and stationed in New Mexico,” Valerie said.
Soon after, COVID separated them physically but not emotionally. Quarantines turned into FaceTime calls. Camping trips across New Mexico followed. Then came the hardest test: Eric’s assignment to Belgium.
What followed were years defined by long-distance flights, closed borders, time differences, and tearful airport goodbyes. They celebrated birthdays across oceans, holidays in borrowed time, and love through relentless uncertainty.
“The airport became my favorite and least favorite place,” Valerie shared. Still, they kept choosing each other, through Europe, Florida, Peru, North Dakota, and back again. In September 2024, after years of “almost,” Eric proposed. “It was a day that once felt unreachable,” Valerie said.
They married in Orlando November 2025, surrounded by family, proof that even the longest journeys can lead home.
A Text Message, a Courthouse, and Zero Regrets
Ellen Prescott and Senior Master Sergeant Bennie Prescott’s love story doesn’t begin with fireworks, it begins with a phone number. They met in Phoenix in 2008. Ellen gave Bennie her number, and later that day, he texted her hello. “He replied, ‘Do you even know who this is?’” Ellen recalled. “He thought I gave my number out to a bunch of people, but I had only given it to him.”
A year later, they woke up one morning with a simple question, “Should we get married today?” They did, without telling anyone. At the courthouse, they discovered they needed witnesses, so each texted a friend to show up. “No real wedding,” Ellen said. “Zero regrets.”
Nearly 17 years later, the couple has moved six times, raised three children, paid off over $200,000 in debt this year, earned multiple degrees, and built a marriage grounded in intention “Communication, communication, and more communication,” Ellen advises young military couples. “Set goals together and celebrate every win.”
For them, love lives in the quiet moments, talking while doing dishes, sharing space amid the chaos.
Two Uniforms, One Team
Chief Master Sergeant Joshua Shoemaker of the 91st MSFS and Captain Deserea Shoemaker of the 5th OMRS know what it means to share not just a life, but a mission.
They met in 2010 while working at Best Buy in Minot. Joshua was a young Airman juggling military service with a part-time civilian job, while Deserea worked there full-time while attending college. Deserea made the first move, after reassuring a customer not to be scared of Joshua “because he always looks mad” referring to Joshua’s “resting angry face”.
For their first date they watched college football, Josh’s passion and as Deserea discovered, an intense experience. “I’m not sure how she stayed around after that game,” Josh admitted. Since then, they’ve been together through deployments, TDYs, long workdays, and major milestones, including Deserea attending and completing medical school and Officer Training School. Through it all, they’ve learned how to balance demanding careers that don’t always slow down at the same time.
They’ve been fortunate that as Deserea has stepped into the peak and busiest seasons of her career, Josh’s promotion to Chief has given him slightly more flexibility than in years past. Still, they both understand that sometimes you simply have to put your head down and work.
“We remind ourselves we’re a team, always,” Deserea said. “When one of us is overwhelmed, the other picks up the slack.” Quality time doesn’t always come easily. After their child goes to bed, if energy allows, they like to spend at least an hour catching up on a TV show. On quieter mornings, even 30 minutes of coffee and conversation before the house wakes up counts.
Looking ahead, both are excited about what’s still to come. “I’m just looking forward to the adventure itself,” Deserea said. “Our track record shows that we can achieve whatever we want, so the opportunities are endless.” Josh agreed. “Watching Deserea do amazing things throughout the rest of her career and watching our son grow up to do great things too.”
This Valentine’s Day, they’ll be cheering together at a UND hockey game, side by side, just like always!
From aircraft cabins to dating apps, courthouses to European borders, these stories share a common truth: love in the military isn’t about perfect timing, it’s about persistence. It’s about choosing each other through distance, duty, and uncertainty. It’s about finding romance in wild hair, sleepy movie dates, folded laundry, and prepped coffee. Happy Valentine’s Day!
