Local author and columnist Carol Megathlin admitted that as a civilian, war had a different meaning for her. But that was before she got to know some soldiers and military families on a very personal level.

Her father had served in World War II and her brother had served in Vietnam, but she hadn’t grown up around the military and had little understanding of what soldiers do and more importantly, why they’re so willing to do it.

Her understanding and her appreciation for service members changed following a conversation in 2002 that took place in her husband’s Sunday school class. A “seed” planted in her heart by Gerry Von Bargen, the father-in-law of then Col. Jim Huggins, former 3rd Infantry Division deputy commander for maneuvers, would become an obsession.

Megathlin would soon found the Adopt-a-Soldier program for 3rd ID soldiers of Fort Stewart and Hunter Army Airfield. She also serves on the board of directors for Honor Flight Savannah, an organization that provides World War II veterans with an all-expense paid trip to Washington, D.C.

“Things that have happened to me, things that have happened to everybody – that’s the things I like to write about,” explained Megathlin, a graduate of the University of Georgia and former public information officer with the Skidaway Institute of Oceanography. “Strangers will say to me, ‘I’m so glad you wrote about that,’ because it’s something they were thinking or feeling. I like to write about things I’m passionate about.”

Her passion for her country and the soldiers who defend it is apparent in her columns in various newspapers.

Many of her columns have recently been published in an anthology called, “Fighting without Fanfare: Honest Thoughts about Human Dilemmas.”

 Read more in the Dec. 31 edition of the News.