Pittsburgh Husband, Wife Re-Enlist In Iraq For July 4th Holiday

Castle Shannon's Wilson Family Deploys Together

POSTED: 1:12 pm EDT July 3, 2008

UPDATED: 5:43 pm EDT July 4, 2008

BAGHDAD -- A married Castle Shannon couple who are serving in Iraq were among 1,100 troops who re-enlisted for duty on the Fourth of July.

Sgt. Kirk Wilson and Staff Sgt. Jessica Wilson joined in the mass enlistment ceremony led by Gen. David Petraeus on Friday morning at Camp Victory, near Baghdad International Airport.

"How many people can ever say they and their wife re-enlisted in Iraq in Saddam Hussein's gold palace by a four-star general? It's definitely a unique experience and definitely extra special to do so with my husband," Jessica Wilson told WTAE Channel 4 Action News by phone.

The Wilsons are journalists who met in the Army Reserves in 2001 while training in Coraopolis. They got married in 2005.

"Our mission here is to tell the soldiers' stories," Jessica Wilson said. "We produce news pieces to send back to friends and family."

Kirk Wilson works in sales at a McMurray car dealership, and Jessica Wilson is an orthodontic assistant in the South Hills. They will return home to those jobs and continue training with their local unit until their next deployment.

"I think we both just love our country and love being a part of something bigger than ourselves, and it was just extra special to be able to recommit ourselves on the Fourth of July, Independence Day," Jessica Wilson said.

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