This Veterans Day, two American soldiers with ties to Karnes County are getting more than support from the American people over the holiday. They’re getting support from one another as father and son.

Former Kenedy High School student Ramon Trevino represents the fourth generation of military service in his family. A 20-year-old U.S. Army second-class private, he spent Veterans Day in Baghdad, Iraq, following in his father’s footsteps.

Kenedy High School graduate Armando Trevino has been in the military as long as his son has been alive. Now a U.S. Air Force master sergeant, he has just returned from Kabul, Afghanistan where he spent several years overseeing the rebuilding and security of Afghan military airports.

Ramon didn’t follow his father in the branch of service he chose, but Armando still couldn’t be more proud.

"He proudly followed in my footsteps of his own will. He wanted to serve his country in a time of calling. That was of his own choice," Armando said.

When the call came in two years ago, it took Armando completely by surprise.

"He called me and said ‘I’ve already enlisted. I’m on my way to the service.’ All four branches support America. I was extremely proud of him — actually, I was in tears," he said.

Ramon had spent the last several years of his teenage life growing up with his mother, former Karnes City resident Sandy Salas. He and Dad kept in contact via phone calls and short visits that came few and far between.

Before then, Ramon had spent time living with his father in Germany, observing the life a military man leads.

"He was able to see a lot of what I did day in and day out — a lot of the long hours. He saw what it could do for a family and a young man," Armando said. "He’s going to take on a big, huge, tremendous responsibility. Especially in today’s age with all the terrorism happening around the world, demand on the military forces has quadrupled. We’re all over the world, now."

He’s been fighting that fight and shouldering the responsibility for a year, now, and is due to head home in about a month. He’ll be with his family for Christmas, and he and his father are planning on spending lots of time together in San Antonio where Armando now is stationed.

For the last year, father and son have been communicating via written letters. E-mail and phone calls are too risky as far as military security is concerned, so letters and packages are the way to go for the Trevino family.

Armando has spent time each month gathering together what he can, boxing it up, and sending it over to Baghdad. Military care packages often bring hard-to-find treasures to soldiers stationed in the Middle East, and each one Ramon received contained an update from his father on how life was going.

Neither of them could talk specifically about the challenges they had been facing, though. Security measures didn’t allow father and son to pour their hearts out about recent combat victories or insurgent attacks. In about a month, though, they’ll get their chance to talk all about it.

Every skirmish, every hardship, and every detail can be shared freely once Ramon returns to the states. It’s a moment in time Armando say’s he’s been looking forward to with much anticipation. He and his son have not shared so much time since Ramon was 12 years old.

"America’s forces continue to do what they’ve got to do, no matter what the cost is. It’s a tremendous feeling to know that, day in day out, you’re not doing this alone," Armando said of his son. "That’s kind of what we establish as common ground: the fact that the military’s a way of life, what it can do for you, and what it can do for the nation."

Armando said his son has definite plans to reenlist, if he hasn’t done so already. In fact, Ramon has a goal of trying out for the Army Special Forces unit.

Until then, both men will be serving in two different countries under two different branches — through Veterans Day and beyond.

jjansky@thecountywide.com