Paul and Linda Davis

Advice to new couples:

"Try to out-give each other. Instead of entering marriage on a selfish realm wondering, 'how will they meet my need?' Look for ways to meet your spouse's needs."

Nomination:

My parents met in Los Angeles while my dad was eating in the restaurant where my mom worked as a waitress. My dad was a recent veteran of the Vietnam War and my mom was an Art major in college. They soon married and dad became a police officer for the Los Angeles Police Department. After a few years, my dad (originally from Oklahoma) decided he didn't want his kids growing up in LA, so he moved us to Idaho where he became an undercover narcotics agent. While in Idaho, he was responsible for bringing down a large drug ring and was honored by the state. My parents than moved us to Oklahoma to be near my father's family. By this time there were three kids.

After serving as a police officer for a number of years, my dad became a firefighter. One day he was called out to horrific accident and was the first on the scene. After a moment, he realized that it was his two sons (my brothers, 12 and 16) he was going to have to rescue. This had to be one of the most frightening moments of his life. The boys and the man in the other vehicle all had life threatening injuries. My baby brother (12) was the worst. He had extensive brain injuries as well as multiple injuries all over his body. The firefighters were able to rescue them by using the Jaws of Life and kept all three accident victims stable thus saving three lives. We were told my brother would not live; but the grace of God he did; however, he had to go through years of rehab. My parents took turns being off work to be with my brothers and the multiple surgeries and recovery time. Because insurance didn't pay all of the medical bills, my parents suffered a tremendous financial burden as well.

Later that same year, my dad was one of the firefights who worked so many hours at the Murrah Federal Building bombing site. The combination of the Vietnam War, LAPD, years as a police officer and firefighter, my brothers' accident and Oklahoma City bombing caused my dad to suffer silently with PTSD for years. This put so much strain on my parent's marriage, but he was finally able to communicate his suffering with my mom and with her help he got the assistance he needed.

Any one of the things they went through could have broken up any marriage, but my parents have survived and thrived in this adversity and are still so much in love with each other. They are my heroes!