Collinsville Soldier's Widow Touched By Mitt Romney's Silent Tribute

A presidential candidate is honoring an Oklahoma soldier.

U.S. Army Spec. Chris Horton was killed in action in September 2011.

Before meeting his wife, the love of his life was his country.

It was a love so great, he had a tough time coming to grips with the fact that Jane had become his No. 1 priority.

"He felt so guilty for putting one person above his country," Jane Horton said. "And you just don't hear people talk like that anymore, people don't appreciate what we have.

Jane Horton appreciates life, and even moreso the man who sacrificed his life to protect the freedoms of Americans.

09/12/2011 Related Story: Collinsville Military Wife Determined To Honor Husband's Sacrifice

Chris Horton was an expert sniper, the best in Oklahoma, Jane says. He was killed in Taliban gunfire.

And while each day brings its own unique challenge, Jane is using her heartache to make sure no fallen soldier is forgotten.

"If we don't speak up for them, if we don't give them a voice, they'll have none because they're not here to speak for themselves," Jane Horton said.

The loudest message so far came in the form of a shiny black bracelet, quietly worn by presidential nominee Mitt Romney during the 2012 Republican National Convention.

Jane Horton said Chris' killed-in-action bracelet is another way to keep his memory alive.

"It means a lot to me that [Romney] not only accepted my husband's bracelet, but that he wears it now as well."

Jane was at the convention serving as an Oklahoma delegate.

She shared her love for politics with her husband, who spent countless hours working on Romney's 2008 campaign.

"For him to know that Romney was wearing his bracelet and remembering him and honoring him, he'd just be over the moon," Jane Horton said.

At the convention, Jane got to rub elbows with some of the country's most powerful - even getting a few minutes to speak with Romney himself.

An honor, yes -- and the reason for her mission.

"It's about people that truly get it, that truly get why my husband wanted to fight, and why he gave his life," Jane Horton said. "And that's something that truly touches me."

After Chris Horton's death last year, Jane says that Romney sent her a handwritten letter expressing his sympathy.

She sent him the name tape Chris was wearing the day he was killed.

9/11/2011 Related Story: Three Oklahoma Soldiers Killed In Afghanistan