Almost 11 years ago to date, the costliest natural disaster in the country’s history ripped through Louisiana, devastating an estimated 15 million people in its wake.
At the time, Carl Barton, a sergeant first class in the U.S. Army, and his family were moving again, this time to Hawaii.
They had their belongings shipped from their previous home in North Carolina ahead of time, but when they arrived in Hawaii, their things still had not arrived.
It took them four months to discover all of their possessions — furniture, home goods, family mementoes — were destroyed by Hurricane Katrina.
Though they are still recovering years later, the Bartons looked forward to a new chapter in their lives Saturday as Carl Barton celebrated his retirement with a ceremony at Firestone Country Club in Akron and surprised attendees with the announcement that his eldest son, Dakota, will be following in his footsteps and joining the U.S. Army.
Rising in the ranks
Carl first enlisted with the National Guard in 1995 when he was 19 years old.
He and his wife, Amanda, got married a year later in the same church where they met in middle school in Arkansas. He was her first kiss.
Just a month later, Carl decided to begin active duty with the Army.
“When I enlisted, I said I’m gonna serve my country whatever it takes,” he said. “I know what I did created a better world for [my kids] to live in. Every day is like a blessing now.”
As Carl went through training and did humanitarian work and carried out peacekeeping assignments in the Middle East, he and Amanda had two children: Dakota, now 17, and Logan, 15.
But after the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, life changed drastically.
“That was the turning point,” Amanda said, “where everything went from not such a crazy military life, to, ‘My husband’s going to be gone all the time.’ ”
The turning point
Carl was deployed overseas five times after that, once to South Korea and four times to Iraq, gone at least a year at a time.
“It was definitely a struggle,” he said. “But the best part is the feeling that you’re helping something, you’re helping people.”
In the meantime, Amanda and the kids moved from state to state as her husband was deployed to military bases around the country.
“I remember during the very first deployment, I was a basket case,” she said. “It does get easier. It becomes what you know.”
While deployed, Carl wrote letters home, at times every day.
Amanda and the kids wrote back, and sometimes made home videos to send overseas while waiting for his phone call.
“Me and the boys, we did everything together,” she said. “That was the key — you have to stay busy.”
Times were tough as Amanda raised the children practically by herself. Carl was in Iraq during the birth of their third son, Blake, now 12.
He was deployed right after their daughter Sophia, now 4, was born, and Amanda dealt with health complications that affected her and her two youngest children without him there.
“When all the kids go to bed and you’re sitting there, there’s just an eerie loneliness,” Amanda said.
She avoided watching the news as the war overseas raged on.
When she learned there were casualties, things became even tougher.
“You were just praying you didn’t get that knock on the door,” she said.
Losing it all
Despite those struggles, the most trying time in the family’s life was their devastating loss after Hurricane Katrina.
The family slept on air mattresses for four months before they were finally told their things were still in a train car in Louisiana, a state the storm left nearly underwater.
Ten years’ worth of stories, photo albums, baby footprints and wedding memorabilia were wiped out, forcing the Bartons to rebuild their lives from the bottom up.
“It just kind of put us back into a hole,” Carl said.
While the family still hasn’t fully recovered from the disaster’s financial burden, they see the light in the situation.
“I would say we came out stronger from it,” Amanda said. “It was nice to see we didn’t let it destroy us.”
An end and beginning
After moving across the country eight times in nearly 20 years, Carl’s final deployment was to a city the couple could hardly pronounce — Cuyahoga Falls.
“We never thought Ohio would be a place where we would hang our hats,” Carl said.
As their eldest son begins his senior year of high school at Cuyahoga Falls High this year, Carl decided it was time to retire from the Army to allow his children to finally settle in one place.
“To me, it’s a relief,” Carl said. “It’s like starting over.”
But for Dakota, it’s only the beginning.
He’s chosen to pursue the same life path as his father, and he officially enlisted in the Army on Friday.
“We think the military is a phenomenal thing for kids. It’s a discipline, it’s a different type of life,” Amanda said. “As a mom I’m terrified, but as a mom I’m proud.”
“It’s a good life choice and I lived that lifestyle my whole life,” Dakota said. “It’s made me stronger.
“I know what I’m prepared for.”
Theresa Cottom can be reached at 330-996-3216 or tcottom@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow her on Twitter @Theresa_Cottom.