Children’s Author Chandelle Walker named 2020 AFI Fort Hood Spouse of the Year

Fort Hood, Texas — Fort Hood military spouse and children’s author Chandelle Walker has been named 2020 Armed Forces Insurance Fort Hood Spouse of the Year. She is one of 18 finalists in the National Military Spouse of the Year contest which crowns its winner in May.

When farm girl Chandelle Walker met and married a handsome Marine, she had an inkling military life would be synonymous with separations, the first of which — a seven-month deployment— came during their courtship. From Marine to National Guard to Army spouse Walker has learned a lot about enduring in their 21 years together. In one seven-year stretch, her husband was gone four years. That’s a lot of separation.

“I have done my best to support my husband […] If we’re not in it together, then neither of us can fully thrive in our roles as a military couple,” said Walker, who credits her writing as an important outlet for helping herself and others — especially children — cope with periods of separation from spouses and parents.  

“I [write] about the military spouse and her relationship with deployments and military life in addition to talking about the importance of recognizing our military children more,” said Chandelle, a mother of two and author of Daddy Left with Mr. Army: A Child’s View of Military Deployment.

“I want to help bridge the gap between parent and child so that we can be more aware of what they see and feel before and during these deployments and family separations. I want to help children feel heard and to help them know that there are other children hearing, seeing, and feeling the same things as them.

“And this is not inclusive to just the Army. This is for every military family member, for every branch of the service that has been asked to do their part in supporting this great country by saying their goodbyes to their beloved parent or spouse.   

“I hope to bring a brighter light to military families and their experiences and to better recognize what they go through during these separations,” said Walker, who is often an invited guest of public libraries and schools where she reads her story, hoping to broaden an understanding within the civilian community of military family sacrifices.

Walker’s love and concern for others expand beyond the military to the wider community. A member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Walker’s faith is evident in her varied charitable outreaches.

“I have a special place in my heart for the elderly,” said Walker who enjoys volunteering at local nursing homes. “Our family likes to attend volunteer events at a local veteran’s cemetery to help support their efforts in retaining their memory and to show a continued love and admiration for their service.”

But Walker’s love for children is irrepressible and evident in her aspiration to volunteer at a local children’s hospital.

If selected to be AFI Military Spouse of the Year in May, Walker says she “would work hard to bring more recognition for our amazing military children and spouses, who are left behind during a deployment. I would focus more on all of their experiences in and around deployments and try to find additional ways families, friends and the community can assist them in successfully navigating through the difficulties of deployment, and try to work with them more closely so their side of the deployment can be heard.

“I would focus even more on the children as they are sometimes overlooked in this entire deployment process. I would love to find a way to help them gain more recognition and help for their unwavering support to their deployed family member. I would love to give them a louder voice and bring to light the many challenges that accompany a deployment and do my best to offer them whatever coping methods they, and their family needed to navigate best through this time.”

Learn more about Chantelle Walker at 2020 AFI MSOY and KCENTV.