Frank Linville

Frank Linville met his wife in Ramadi, Iraq, during his first deployment. She is a soldier, too.
They dated long-distance before getting married after his second deployment.
By his third deployment, Linville was kissing his six-month-old daughter good-bye.
“It was crazy. I’m glad she was as young as she was though when I left, because it was very easy for her to adjust to my coming back.”
Linville had heard horror stories about readjusting to family life when returning from Iraq.
“When I came back from the airport and we finally met, I think for 20 minutes she was pretty shy. She knew who I was, but was kind of nervous. After that she was friendly, laughing, playing, and within a couple weeks, she was treating me like I had never left.”
Now, he is a sophomore at IU with life and love experiences that are very different from his 19-year-old classmates.
“I believe I am a much better individual on the whole after coming out of it. The opportunities I had to help others, to guide other soldiers particularly as a sergeant, as a leader, was really rewarding, and I really enjoyed it. It’s probably one of the biggest things I’m going to miss in the long run.”
After three deployments, Linville has returned to Bloomington as a veteran, a father, a husband and a student.