His story: For 23 years, Best served in the Army, including tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, rising to the rank of platoon sergeant for corps maintenance in 2012, when he retired. "The hardest part of the acceptance of this is, he survived so many lethal situations in all the years he served," his youngest sister, Areana Best, 27, tells WW. "The kids always knew that their dad might not come back. When he retired, they had this sense of relief. To have this happen from the country he protected is what's hardest."