Vicki Cody’s narrative and journal entries illuminate the roller coaster of stress, loneliness, sleepless nights, humor, joys, and, eventually, the resilience that makes up her life while her husband is away at war.
Vicki Cody opens up about military families
When Vicki Cody got married 46 years ago, she also became wedded to the Army. In fact, her marriage has been inseparable from the military. She has spent her adult life supporting her family of soldiers and penned two award-winning books – Army Wife and Fly Safe – that help tells the story of what she and millions of army spouses and parents face when their loved ones go off to serve their country thousands of miles away. An author, speaker, and relentless military family advocate, Vicki is on a mission to help those who support our selfless service members.
“Through my narrative and journal entries, I share my journey giving the reader a glimpse of the ups and downs, challenges and triumphs, and the stress of war as seen through the eyes of the families back home,” says Vicki. “When you have no control over a situation, you have to have faith; faith in yourself, faith in your partner, and during the really difficult times, I relied on my faith in God.”
Her husband, Richard Cody, is a retired four-star general and served as the 31st Vice Chief of Staff of the United States Army. She was with him – oceans apart — as he served in the evacuation of Vietnam and later when he was in the Gulf during Operation Desert Storm. They would move 18 times in 33 years, and as she raised their family of two sons, she would see them turn into Apache helicopter pilots for the famed 101st Airborne Division.
Vicki discusses:
- What it is really like to be home alone, thousands of miles away from your spouse or child who is risking their life overseas.
- How to keep a marriage vibrant and raise a family amid challenges and uncertainties.
- What Americans need to know about the families behind their soldiers.
- How women can turn challenges into life lessons and positive growth as a wife/mothers.
- Why do some choose to participate in their destiny while others watch from the sidelines?
- How we can navigate a new norm.
- What we can do to support our veterans and wounded warriors?
Vicki, who also penned a manual for the Association of the United States Army, Your Soldier, Your Army: A Family Guide, that has been distributed to over a half-million families, luckily has always welcomed home her husband, two sons, and daughter-in-law who also has served. But she cautions that not everyone makes it home alive or in one piece, physically or psychologically.
“Families live in fear of the late-night call or knock at the door to deliver bad news,” says Vicki. “I know many friends who have lost sons and daughters to the battle field. My books provide an authentic, insightful, and heartfelt look at those who are the backbone for our soldiers.”
About Army Wife
Army Wife begins in the summer of 1969 when the author meets West Point Cadet Dick Cody. A schoolgirl crush and six years of dating turn into an enduring love story and more than thirty years of marriage. Vicki is by Dicks side every step of the way on his path from lieutenant to four-star general and Vice Chief of Staff of the Army, and over the years, she learns to embrace the uniqueness of her circumstances, finding joy, self-fulfillment, and pride in her role. But when both her sons follow in their dad’s footsteps, becoming Army Aviators and flying Apache helicopters in combat zones in Afghanistan and Iraq, Cody faces her greatest challenges as a mother. From the last days of the Vietnam War to the present-day war on terrorism, Army Wife honors not just commitment between spouses but also a commitment to military life. With humor and honesty, Cody brings the reader into her private life in a very personal way–and in doing so, she opens the way for a broader view of world events of the past forty years.
About Fly Safe
It is August 1990, and Iraq has just invaded Kuwait, setting off a chain reaction of events that leads to the first Gulf War. Vicki Cody’s husband, the commander of an elite Apache helicopter battalion, is deployed to Saudi Arabia and for the next nine months, they have to rely
on written letters in order to stay connected. Vicki’s narrative and journal entries illuminate the roller coaster of stress, loneliness, sleepless nights, humor, joys, and, eventually, a resilience that makes up her life while her husband is away at war. Meanwhile, Dicks letters to her give the reader a front-row seat to the unfolding of history, the adrenaline rush of flying helicopters in combat, his commitment to his country, and his devotion to his family back home. Together, these three components weave together a clear, insightful, and intimate story of love and its power to sustain us.