Community Corner

Military Exercise Becomes Father's Day Reunion With St. Charles Link

Annual training in Wisconsin becomes a family affair for Sgt. Tracy Wright of St. Charles and Pvt. 1st Class Tayler Avery, of Maple Park.

Call it Father’s Day, but with a twist.


Instead of gathering around a backyard firepit or the pation grill, a St. Charles man and his stepdeaughter who lives in Maple Park will get together in Wisconsin today — as part of a two-week of National Guard training, according to readMedia.


The Illinois National Guard has 13,000 soldiers and airmen, so according to readMedia, multiple generations of families serving side by side is not uncommon. Sgt. Tracy Wright, of St. Charles, and Pvt. 1st Class Tayler Avery, of Maple Park, are examples of family members serving together.

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Wright a supply specialist with the Illinois Army National Guard's Battery A, 2nd Battalion, 122nd Field Artillery Regiment in Sycamore.


Deployed to Operation Desert Storm as a Marine, he left the military to raise two stepdaughters and one son with his wife, Danielle. The couple have been married 14 years.

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But in 2009, at age 39, Wright decided he wanted to get back into uniform.


Avery is a chemical, biological, radioactive and nuclear specialist with the Illinois Army National Guard's 135th Chemical Company, 44th Chemical Battalion, 404th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade, based in Machesney Park. She was a high school junior when her stepfather joined the Guard.


Avery said Wright made her a part of the process, which brought them closer together.


READ MORE: For more about this dad and stepdaughter, check out readMedia’s full article.



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