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With Memorial Day weekend coming up, we're thinking about sacrifice.

The bonds that form between people who literally go through war together and how it affects those on the battlefield and back home.

It's the Storycore podcast from NPR. I'm Camila Kashani.

Our first story comes from Gina Gear, who was a switchboard operator in the Army Signacore, stationed in Germany during the first Gulf War.

That's where she met Army Specialist Jody Wolz, who played trumpet in the Army band.

At Storycore, Gina told their 22-year-old son Ryan about how Jody stood out to her in a sea of soldiers.

What made him different than other men in the military?

Oh, he's definitely different.

He had a sense of duty about his job, but on the other hand, didn't care.

He was quick-witted, and I remember. He told me that he was information, and the general comes by, gets to your dad, and he says,

soldier, looks like you got grass on your boots, and your dad says, it's camouflage, sir.

He was so charming and so confident and so just kind, actually.

And I remember once in a while the band would let me ride the bus with them, and I was sitting next to him, and he said, I want you to listen to this.

And it was the slow version of Chuck Manjone, he feels so good.

And he says, I'm going to play that at my wedding.

And I said, well, whoever you get married to is going to be so lucky.

I know it sounds corny. I know.

But anyway, and then when we got married, he played that song at our wedding, and it was so romantic, and it's one of my favorite memories.

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