‘We Did Meet at the USO’: Volunteers Tie the Knot at the Fort Campbell USO

By Sandi Moynihan

It was love at first shift.

When Army Sgt. Gary Yim first met his wife, Chris, while volunteering at the Fort Campbell USO, he knew she was special.

“I wanted to ask her out, but I didn’t want to scare away a volunteer,” Gary said. “A mutual friend…gave me her number and let me know ‘Chris really did want you to have her number. It’s okay.’”

Two years and dozens of volunteer shifts later, the couple became engaged and began the tedious process of finding the perfect place for their big day.

“We wanted a place where we felt we could bring our family to actually show them where we met and what was important to us,” Chris said. “And so the USO immediately came to mind.”

Although USO Fort Campbell doesn’t typically allow service members to host weddings in their facility, given Chris and Gary’s unique story, center director Kari Moore gladly made an exception.

On June 15, 2014, the Yim’s were married at the Fort Campbell Community Chapel and held their reception at the USO center following the ceremony.

“It was just a lot of fun, especially to show off what we love,” Gary said.

You can send a message of support and thanks directly to service members via the USO’s Campaign to Connect. Your messages will appear on screens at USO locations around the world.

This story was originally published in 2016 and has been updated in 2021.