Megan Barnhart’s recipe for happiness included marrying her high school sweetheart and having a long, full life by his side.

Cruel fate stepped in the way, though, when Sgt. Jeffrey Scott Angel II, then Megan’s husband of nearly five years, perished on Sept. 11, 2007 in the crash of a Blackhawk helicopter on a training flight. After having completed three tours of duty in Iraq for the United States Army, the crew chief — stationed at Fort Campbell, Ky. — was preparing for a fourth deployment, this one to Afghanistan, when tragedy struck as the helicopter struck power lines on a foggy Alabama night, killing Angel, 24, and two other soldiers.

As she continues the grieving process, Megan Angel has now contributed to a recipe book that is aimed at raising awareness and funds for wounded soldiers and families of fallen warriors, such as her late husband.

A recipe for Mamaw’s Chicken Casserole — submitted on behalf of Scott’s grandmother, Mary Angel — is among those included in “Dinner With Warriors,” a cookbook assembled by a group bearing the same name.

The cookbook can be ordered from the website www.dinnerwithwarriors.com. It costs $16.50 plus shipping and handling.

Each page features a wounded or fallen soldier, with a photo and some information about their lives, followed by their favorite meal and recipe.

The book will be sold to raise money for wounded soldiers and family members of fallen soldiers. All net proceeds from the sale go to hand-selected organizations which assist in the healing — mentally and physically — of injured soldiers and their families.

Megan considers herself fortunate to have her husband remembered in the book, for which her participation was made possible through connections with the Gold Star Wives and the Wounded Warrior Foundation.

“It is a complete honor to be involved with this cookbook and to have Scott be a part of something special that is going to help his fellow soldiers and their families in a time where life is so uncertain,” she said. “Our soldiers suffer every day with injuries from the Iraq and Afghanistan wars and, by ordering this cookbook, it is a great opportunity to show them we care and have not forgotten the sacrifices they and their families have made.

“I have wanted to help other people in the same situation for a long time, and this cookbook is a way to help me do that. Helping people is very healing. And things like this ensure that the memories of all of these soldiers in the book live on.”

She says her husband cherished a serving or two of the chicken casserole.

“It was his favorite,” she said. “He made me try it.

“And he asked me to call and get the recipe so I could cook it for him.”

Now, the recipe is available for many others.



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Megan remembers originally becoming interested in her future husband while they were students at Valley High School. First, they were seated side-by-side in the classroom because of the location of their surnames in the alphabet. A chance seating assignment was just the beginning.

“What drew me to Scott was definitely his outgoing personality,” said Megan, who sold the family’s home in Tennessee and moved back to the area a couple of months after his death. “He never knew a stranger and his laugh was contagious.”

“The quality I most remember about him is his smile and his laugh,” she continued. “And the fact that he never met a stranger and would help anyone with anything if they asked.

“He was an amazing person to know and I feel lucky that I got him for as long as I did.”

Scott Angel was a sports standout at Gauley Bridge and, later, Valley high school. He eschewed a possible collegiate baseball career to enter the Army in October 2002, and the couple married on Dec. 28 of that year.

“Even though we were young when we were married (Scott was 19 and Megan 18), we believed we would be together forever. And (his death) was a very hard thing for me in the beginning, that I didn’t get to enjoy a long life with him,” she said. “But my mom once told me, ‘It may not have been your forever, but it was his,’ and that has comforted me through a lot of hard days and nights.”



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In addition to her vivid memories, Megan has a more immediate daily reminder of her union with Scott. The couple’s daughter, Sophia, celebrated her third birthday on Aug. 4. She was only five weeks old at the time of his passing.

“I want Sophia to know that her daddy was a hero, that he put others before himself,” Megan said Sunday. “And that, even though she won’t remember, in five weeks he loved her enough for a lifetime.

“And my hope is that, later on, she will want to be involved with helping me honor him in ways like this cookbook.”

Adjusting to life without him has been “rough,” she admits, especially since she’s not in close proximity to an active military base. But, projects such as the cookbook will help bring more normalcy to their lives. “We’ve had a lot more things to focus on,” she says. And her church — the Oakland Church of God — has “helped tremendously.”

That church affiliation helps Scott’s and Megan’s little angel, too.

“She knows where Heaven is, and she understands ... that Daddy is in Heaven with Jesus.”

— E-mail:

skeenan@register-herald.com