The Vasquez Family

U.S. Army Sgt. Diana Vasquez was born the youngest of four daughters in the small community of De Leon, Texas. Growing up in a family of migrant and seasonal farm workers, Vasquez spent her childhood moving from state to state. The value of hard work was instilled in her from a young age, and she carried it well into adulthood.

Vasquez always felt a calling to serve and protect her country. She served four years and two deployments in Afghanistan and Iraq, first as an aviation mechanic, followed by work in Military Intelligence as a cryptologic linguist.

Vasquez’s work as an aviation mechanic caused severe wear-and-tear to her knees, resulting in her medical discharge in 1998. Despite her injuries, she chose to re-enlist in active duty in 2001, and was deployed to Afghanistan in 2003. Her emotionally taxing work in intelligence during this deployment would become the root of her PTSD, yet she volunteered to deploy to Iraq just one month after returning home from Afghanistan to stay with her unit. It was during her Iraq deployment that Vasquez started suffering from additional injuries, along with an undiagnosed illness characterized by extreme vomiting, rapid and unexplained weight loss and breathing difficulties. Nearly two months into her deployment, she was ordered to be medically evacuated. Vasquez was awarded with the Army Achievement Medal, Army Good Conduct Medal and more for her service.

Despite undergoing several surgeries and coping with the side effects of PTSD, Vasquez marches on with the support of her devoted husband, Marco, to help care for their 9-year-old son; her mother, a breast cancer survivor; and her nieces and nephews in her hometown of De Leon. Vasquez and Marco live by the words, “You reap what you sow,” and they are dedicated to giving back to their local community by donating their time to various youth and veterans organizations and providing free-of-charge services to the elderly.

Operation FINALLY HOME, with support from Anthony Estates Homes is humbled and honored to provide the Vasquez family with a custom-built, mortgage-free home in Granbury, TX in 2017.