Home For The Holidays

For most people, Christmas season's importance is self-evident. The holidays represent a time to remember what is most important in life, while  spending time with loved ones. 

Caroline Swiger and AJ Olivo, however, are sure to have an entirely different appreciation of the holidays. The two will be married Friday, after falling in love over the course of a year and agreeing to wed through love letters Olivo wrote Swiger. Days later, Olivo will be forced to leave his wife to return to training at Fort Benning, Ga. 

Olivo, 26, is originally from New Jersey, but had just moved to Greenville in December of 2010 when he met his future fiancee. Olivo first saw Swiger, 25, at a local bar in Simpsonville, but later bumped into her again on New Year's Eve in downtown Greenville. 

To Olivo, Swiger represented not just a pretty face, but a chance at gaining a friendship in a new place. 

"He told me he was new in town, and that he was here because he was about to go into the Army, and that he didn't know anyone yet," Swiger recalled. "That's when I gave him my number. He invited me out for drinks a week later with two other friends. I honestly didn't know if he liked me at that point or if just wanted another friend. But he opened doors for me and paid for me all night. We talked and laughed - he was the perfect gentleman."

It wouldn't be long before a whirlwind romance would begin. But Olivo's plans to become a military man would also lead to one of the most challenging periods of both of their lives. 

On Sept. 6, Olivo reported to Fort Benning, Georgia for basic training in the U.S Army. After just one week in camp, he wrote Swiger's father in Taylors, asking for Caroline's hand in marriage. 

While the culture of immediate gratification has only grown stronger with communicatory vehicles like Facebook, youtube and e-mail, handwritten letters are still a staple in military life. 

One such love letter Olivo served as an unorthodox marriage proposal - a proposal Swiger immediately accepted. 

"You are my world and I truly love you," Olivo wrote. "I miss you and I can't wait to start a family and be with you forever." 

But for three months, the newly engaged couple went without seeing each other, and communication was limited. 

"The first call I got I was so emotional I cried for two hours after we hung up," Swiger said. "I wrote to him every single day he's been gone. He probably has close to a hundred letters from me by now. He wrote back once or twice a week. They don't give them hardly any time to write in there."

Meanwhile, Olivo was busy with the rigors of basic training and later, advanced individual training. Most recently, Olivo's unit completed a 12-mile march while each soldier carried a rucksack packed with 50 pounds of equipment. Olivo lost 34 pounds during training. 

"I think it (the time apart) was probably a little more difficult for her," Olivo said. "They just don't give you any time to think about anything outside training."

Now, Olivo is also adjusting to the entire idea of Christmas after spending the last three months in a hyper-controlled environment. 

"It doesn't really feel like Christmas," Olivo said. "Usually during Christmastime, you go out, you would go to the mall, you would see everything decorated, and you'd gradually get into the Christmas spirit. But where I was, there were no decorations or red and green - you only saw the uniform. 

"It was a culture shock coming in, and it's a culture shock coming out." 

The two marry Friday in Taylors, but their reunion will be short-lived. On Jan. 4, he'll return to Fort Benning to complete the last two weeks of AIT (advanced individual training). After his Jan. 19 graduation, he'll be stationed in Junction City, Kan., where he and Caroline will call home. Sometime thereafter, he''ll be deployed - to where is an unknown. 

But for now, Swiger and Olivo will focus on their time together - a holiday season sure to be a memorable one.