James and Erica first saw each other March 31, 2021 when attending the junior officer group social event at Eudora Brewing Company in Dayton, Ohio. They sat at opposite ends of the table and never said “hi”. James remembers this as the night when Erica answered the trivia question “Where was the first ever vending machine created?” correctly. She said, “Egypt.” The table agreed with James to go with “Japan” and before ever meeting, he learned that if she is going to answer a question - that she is probably right. A few weeks later, they went out again as part of another junior officer group weekend event to Columbus, Ohio. The guys checked into their room and the girls checked into their room before all meeting to get Ubers to the restaurant. James walked up to Erica and said, “I don’t think I’ve introduced myself yet. I’m James.” Erica told him her name and they shook hands. They discussed the type of work they did in the Air Force. At the time, James was working as a Systems Analysis Engineer for the USAF Life Cycle Management Center at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. Erica had just moved to Ohio to work at the Medical Center on base. She had been invited to complete the Medical Logistics Internship. They arrived separately to a German restaurant, but ended up in seats next to each other. James asked her about menu items before they ordered and ate dinner. Later, the group went to a bar where Erica gave up some quarters for some of the officers group to play pool. James asked to go through them and (because he collects them) asked Erica if he could have one. Erica asked, “Is it a quarter that is worth more than twenty-five cents?” James said “No, it’s just worth twenty-five cents.” Erica said he could have it but James insisted he needed to buy her a drink to repay her. Erica didn’t see the point in a five dollar drink for a quarter, but she was also clueless that James thought she was cute. The next day, they went to a different German restaurant for brunch before everyone walked off their meal next to the river. James talked a lot to Erica while she took photos of flowers and the bridge. She also saved him from getting run over by a bicyclist, but James thinks she overreacted and he was never in any danger. That night the group went out dancing. It is highly likely that Erica will demonstrate James’ dance moves at the wedding dinner to help everyone relive this part of the story with them. It’s hilarious - you should be there. After that - they began getting to know each other as friends and did things like hiking and Top Golf. A couple of months later, they started dating.

Then in October, Erica found out she would be moving to her next base in January - sooner than either of them expected. They discussed it and decided to date long distance while James finished his Master’s Degree in Aeronautical Engineering at the Air Force Institute of Technology. Erica moved to Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho and took over as the Medical Logistics Flight Commander for the clinic there. They saw each other over James’ school breaks. They visited Las Vegas in March 2022, Grand Teton, Yellowstone, and Glacier National Parks in June 2022 (and were there when the big flood closed Yellowstone!), and got engaged September 10, 2022, when James flew out to Salt Lake City, Utah, where he proposed after hiking 6,586 feet to the top of Frary Peak at Antelope Island State Park. During the proposal, James opened the ring box upside down and Erica started to laugh, not the reaction James had expected. Even with his blunder, Erica still said “yes!” James would graduate in March 2023 and at that time, would move to his next duty location. James and Erica made the decision to have an intimate wedding at their church in Ohio between their birthdays, and got married December 10, 2022. As a result, they are now happily living together in San Antonio, Texas. Currently, Erica is working as the TRICARE Operations and Patient Administration Flight Commander, and James is working as a Laser Range Engineer at Fort Sam Houston. April 13, 2023 is when we are renewing our vows to have our ceremony in front of our friends and family at the Chapel located on Randolph Air Force Base, and will have dinner catered at the Parr O’Club on base afterwards. We hope to see you there!