New TAPS Education Program for Bereaved Families
Ashlynne Haycock was only ten years old when her father Sgt. First Class Jeffrey Haycock was killed in Iraq. But Ashlynne already knew education was...
View ArticleGold Star Parents Look to Honor Vets With Healing Retreat
Moving forward and healing from grief is a tricky thing that doesn’t look the same way for everyone. But for Gretchen and Kirk Catherwood, whose...
View ArticleLandmark Study to Examine Military Loss and Grief
A federally funded, landmark, never been done before study is examining military loss and grief through direct interviews with adult and child survivors. The study,...
View ArticleWhy Memorial Day Isn’t For You
For those of you in uniform, there’s an easy test to determine if “Memorial Day” is for you: are you currently reading this article? If...
View ArticleMaking Sure His Loss Was Not Empty
Although Dunn may have died, his legacy has not. I have made perpetuating his memory his my mission. As long as people remember Lance Cpl....
View ArticleName a Service Puppy, Honor a Service Member
Parents, spouses and friends of fallen troops often tell me that their biggest fear is that their loved one will be forgotten. There is something...
View ArticleWidow: Honor the Lost by Serving the Living
The first few years following my sweet husband’s death, I would not have been capable of doing this project. It was too raw and too...
View ArticleMemorial Day: Take Time to Remember
On Memorial Day we set aside time as a nation to remember those who fell in service to our country. “We will never forget,” we...
View ArticleWhat Every Military Mother Sees: Gold Star Moms
The Marine pilot chuckled when I showed him the picture my Army son sent me of himself with a giant weapon and a threatening expression....
View ArticleWhen Military Loss Meets Christmas
The year Jeff died in a military plane crash I wasn’t sure how I was going to get through the Christmas season, but I knew...
View ArticleMark Memorial Day by Remembering Life
I never expected to know military death, even from a distance. When death came, it was not to my doorstep. There were many times its...
View ArticleWhy Don’t Widows Already Get GI Bill?
When I was told that a bill making its way through the Senate would allow military widows to use their spouse’s GI Bill, I was...
View ArticleDear America: You Failed Our Fallen Rangers
As a Army Ranger Regiment wife and wounded warrior spouse I know that we take care of our own. But what happens when our own...
View ArticleShe Had No Idea He Turned Down SGLI
Like so many of our service members, Lt. Cmdr. Landon Jones thought he was invincible. He was also the saver in his military home, squirreling...
View ArticleWe Don’t ‘Stand By’ For Tragedy
Before the phone rings, it is a normal Thursday morning. Then we get the official word that there has been a casualty at the command....
View ArticleGold Star Wife’s Courage Showcased in New Film
It wasn’t long after Lisa Hallett’s husband, Army Cpt. John Hallett, was killed by a roadside bomb in Afghanistan in August, 2009, that she turned...
View ArticleWhen Every Day Is Memorial Day
I do not write this to make anyone feel guilty for saying “HAPPY Memorial Day!” (But please, don’t do that.) I don’t want anyone cringing...
View ArticleOur PTSD Story: I Thought It Was The Alchohol
I thought that our problem was the alcohol. I thought it was the fifth of whiskey and the six-pack of beer he could put away...
View ArticleResource Helps Gold Star Parents Know Rights to Grandkids
I can think of little in our Defense Department world more stressful than military death. There are all of the things that must be dealt with and...
View ArticleA Letter to the Gold Star Mama
To the Mama with the Gold Star, I bet you didn’t picture this. Today is “Gold Star Mother’s Day.” I bet you never thought there...
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