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<\/a><\/p>\nStories of Honor is a Fort Worth Report weekly series spotlighting 12 Tarrant County veterans<\/a> who are serving beyond the uniform.<\/p>\n We also are highlighting nonprofits<\/a> recommended by the veterans.<\/p>\n In November, the veterans will gather for a luncheon where the Report will honor their service at the National Medal of Honor Museum in Arlington.<\/p>\n His love for exotic animals ran deep. While visiting family in South Africa after high school, he worked for a stint at the world-renowned wildlife sanctuary Kruger National Park, and his grandmother served in the mission fields in Congo. Life looked unconventional, but it was his life.\u00a0<\/p>\n Plans to move to the 49th state changed when his future wife, Lesli, walked back into his life.\u00a0 They dated briefly in high school, but lost touch.\u00a0<\/p>\n When she returned from a yearslong visit to Alaska, he asked her about life. It was their first encounter in four years. They started dating again, then marriage followed.\u00a0<\/p>\n Joining the service crossed his mind, but he wasn\u2019t sold. Then he watched \u201cHeartbreak Ridge,\u201d a Korean War-inspired film starring Clint Eastwood as a Marine.<\/p>\n Now Badenhorst was sold. The next day, he enlisted.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cLesli was not happy at all,\u201d he said. \u201cBut it was meant to be.\u201d<\/p>\n Badenhorst rose through the ranks, becoming a noncommissioned officer and serving as platoon sergeant in the 3rd Battalion, 7th Marines.\u00a0<\/p>\n Deployments took him overseas, so he missed milestones. He wasn\u2019t there for the birth of his first son. Injuries followed \u2014 back surgeries, fusions and a spinal stimulator became daily reminders of service.<\/p>\n Marine veteran Dwight Phillips met Badenhorst in 2003 at church, where Phillips was teaching a young couples class.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s a true patriot for sure and hardcore Marine,\u201d Phillips said. \u201cHe\u2019s proud of his service.\u201d<\/p>\n Life after the Marines didn\u2019t get easier.<\/p>\n In the early 2000s, Badenhorst seemed to have everything: marriage, four children, a home on 6 acres with a mini farm in Vilonia, Arkansas, and ownership of two Cicis Pizza franchises.<\/p>\n \u201cIn my mind, I had reached the pinnacle of success,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n But the 2008 financial crisis hit, crushing his business. He owed over $100,000 in taxes, lost his house, and creditors circled. During that span, his daughter was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, and he underwent another back surgery.\u00a0<\/p>\n One morning, he walked through the living room and made sure to kiss his children and tell them he loved them before leaving for work, convinced he might not return.<\/p>\n His plan: speed into a concrete bridge post, making his death look accidental in hope his life insurance policy would save his family.<\/p>\n \u201cI thought the only way out was to take my life,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n But fate intervened.\u00a0<\/p>\n At Cicis, a cook failed to show up. Minutes until opening, Badenhorst jumped in and started cooking. The plan was still on his mind. Lesli, though, sensed something was wrong with her husband that morning.\u00a0<\/p>\n She called his brother, who told Badenhorst: \u201cClose the restaurants and come home.\u201d<\/p>\n Badenhorst listened and moved his family back to Texas.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s an overcomer,\u201d Phillips said. \u201cLosing everything, the back surgeries. It didn\u2019t keep him down.\u201d<\/p>\n Badenhorst became a role model for Phillips\u2019 sons. All three joined the Marines.<\/p>\n \u201cThey respected him and saw how the Marine Corps had impacted him,\u201d Phillips said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Vaughn Badenhorst<\/p>\n Age: <\/strong>55<\/p>\n Military service: <\/strong>U.S. Marine Corps<\/p>\n Occupation: <\/strong>Financial manager and retreat manager<\/p>\n Education: <\/strong>Graduated from Cleburne High School<\/p>\n Family: <\/strong>Married to Lesli Badenhorst. They have one daughter, Jocelyn Echeverry, and three boys, Corbin, Luke and Brian. They have two grandchildren, 8-year-old Aubrey and 4-year-old Alan, and two step-grandchildren, 12-year-old Olivia and 11-year-old Carly.\u00a0<\/p>\n Most important lesson learned in the military<\/strong>: \u201cYou can do anything you set your mindset to.\u201d<\/p>\n In 2009, Badenhorst started over. He joined First Command, a firm offering financial services for military families, as a financial adviser.\u00a0<\/p>\n Christine Goates, district adviser for First Command, said Badenhorst\u2019s work ethic stands out.<\/p>\n Helping families use VA benefits to avoid hardships like his own gives him purpose.<\/p>\n \u201cHe would give you the shirt off his back, and if he didn\u2019t have one, he\u2019d go find one,\u201d Goates said.<\/p>\n Through First Command, he connected with Project Sanctuary, a nonprofit that provides retreats and ongoing support to military families.<\/p>\n \u201cIf I would\u2019ve had the tools that Project Sanctuary provides back in 2008, I would not have looked at the bridge as a way out,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n At retreats, he has seen families on the brink of divorce holding hands, and children who arrive withdrawn leave with friends.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cConnecting with the families and letting them know they\u2019re not alone is empowering,\u201d Badenhorst said.<\/p>\n Lesli has been by his side through the highs and lows.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cShe experienced rock bottom in 2008, and she stuck with me,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n His mission now? Making life easier for families living through struggles.\u00a0<\/p>\n As for that trip to the Last Frontier, Badenhorst\u2019s plan never materialized.<\/p>\n Fate, once again, had other plans.\u00a0<\/p>\n Alaska came to him through Lesli, who spent four years there. A long conversation about the state thawed their connection and ignited a 32-year relationship.<\/p>\n Goates attributes it all to Badenhorst\u2019s unwavering faith.<\/p>\n \u201cHe puts God first, his family, then others,\u201d Goates said. \u201cEverything he has in life, he\u2019ll tell you God is responsible for it.\u201d<\/p>\n Orlando Torres is a reporting fellow for the Fort Worth Report.<\/p>\n At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here<\/a>.<\/p>\n \n\tRelated\n<\/p>\n Fort Worth Report is certified by the Journalism Trust Initiative<\/a> for adhering to standards for ethical journalism.<\/p>\n Republish This Story<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/4107537178859507043-1.jpeg\")
Hunter is the pet cougar of U.S. Marine Corps veteran Vaughn Badenhorst. (Courtesy photo | Vaughn Badenhorst)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/0812-SOHVaughnBadenhorst-02.jpg\")
Vaughn Badenhorst in Fort Worth Aug. 12, 2025. (Maria Crane | Fort Worth Report\/CatchLight Local\/Report for America)<\/p>\n
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