Page 42 - Amarillo Senior Link Magazine Fall 2021 - Online Magazine

Tousha Paxton "Grandma Airborne"
orn in Lubbock, Texas to
Rosemary and Coulson
B“Sonny” Paxton, Jr.,
Tousha Paxton-Barnes has two
older sisters and an older brother.
Tousha’s earliest memories
from a military family are both
happy and sad. Her dad passed
away due to complications from
exposure to Agent Orange during
his deployment
to Vietnam. Her
Dad, a Marine,
was Tousha’s hero;
he volunteered to
serve his country
during the draft.
She comes from a
long line of family
members who
have served in
the military and
continue to serve
our country. Father, Sonny Paxton
Tousha graduated
from Frenship High School in
Wolfforth, Texas. During her
teen years, she enjoyed playing
basketball, waterskiing and
42 Amarillo Senior Link
On a Mission
by Jelaine Workman
horseback riding.
She graduated from
the Amarillo College
Law Enforcement
Academy and
later received her Bachelor of
Science degree in Biology from
West Texas A&M University in
Canyon, Texas.
In 2006, Tousha enlisted in the
United States Army. She really
wanted to join the Marines but Great Grandfather
was told that, at the age of 34, and Grandpa Paxton
she was too old to enlist
as a Marine. Tousha species of crawlers, such as camel
volunteered to go to spiders, snakes, and lizards. On
jump school where she a scorching hot day, she entered
got the name “Grandma the headquarters tent to the total
Airborne”. She served chaos of soldiers yelling and in
with the 782nd Brigade panic. When she realized what
Support Battalion at Fort was going on, she opened the
Bragg, North Carolina door to usher out a three-foot-
and deployed with her long lizard. “I never laughed
unit during the Operation so hard to see heavily armed
Enduring Freedom War in soldiers scream like a bunch
Afghanistan in 2007. of kids over a lizard; naturally
it took a Texas country girl to
One of the funniest
moments during her save the day!” Tousha served
18 months active duty and eight
deployment happened the years reserved.
first day of arrival in the Khost
Province of Afghanistan. They When Tousha returned home to
were debriefed on the native civilian life, she struggled with