Military Mom Pounds the Ground for Her Son

“To show him my support – this is the only way I can do it.”

When Diane Krawczyk’s son, Zachary, said he wanted to enlist in the military, it came as a complete surprise. He’d never expressed interest in the military before, but Diane, who has worked at the Batavia VA for the past 13 years, knows the benefits of serving and was nothing but supportive of his decision.

“A friend of his enlisted in the Army National Guard and went to boot camp during the summer between 11th and 12th grade,” Diane said. “He told my son all about it – all of the advantages you can gain from being in the military.” Zachary was invited as a guest to one of the boot camp drills. “He loved it and said, ‘this is what I want to do.’” Diane, who works in the insurance sector of the VA, encouraged her son’s decision and told him of all the benefits he could get, from school to housing, so Zachary also enlisted in the Army National Guard.

Zachary signed the paperwork in February and went off to boot camp, where he is now, at Fort Jackson. “It was hard to get used to not really hearing from him,” Diane said. “That’s been the rough part for him – missing people from home.” But she said it has given him a greater sense of pride for our country and taught him a lot. “He’s just made us so proud to go off and do this. He recognized he needed structure and discipline in his life and knew the military would give him that. This is what he needed to stand on his two feet and show everyone what he can do for his country. He’s found himself.

“We are so proud of him and it means so much that he’s going out there and doing this. He signed up for defending our country. It’s so hard to explain, but it all happened at the right time. He has great pride in his country, and we couldn’t be any prouder of him. I can’t wait to see how well he does, and I know he will do well. He wants to go out and defend our country. There’s no bigger sacrifice than to go off and do what he’s doing.”

To show her support for her Zachary, Diane decided to run Pound the Ground for Veterans Outreach Center’s Virtual 5K Run/Walk. She ran it last year, but this year it means even more to her. “That’s my way of showing him that I’m out there, too, and I’m thinking about him and I’m proud of him,” Diane said. “I’ve got a t-shirt for him and red, white, and blue pants. To show him my support – this is the only way I can do it.”

Brave men and women just like Zachary are defending our freedoms on the Homefront and overseas every day. Who are you running for?

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