Monday, May 29, 2006

Memorial Day

Memorial Day is for remembering those who died in the service of our country. We set aside this one day a year to grieve for those known to us, and those unknown. However, for an increasing number of families, Memorial Day just brings to a national level what they experience every day.

I have often read and heard about the experiences of losing a spouse or a child to war, but rarely do we hear the voices of those who have lost a parent.

Over the Memorial Day weekend, nearly 150 children who have lost a parent to war gathered at a hotel in Arlighton, VA for a yearly grief camp run by the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors, a nonprofit group founded in 1994 that helps military families and friends cope with death and talk about their loss. This article gives a poignant glimpse into their weekend of shared grieving.

4 Comments:

Blogger MQ said...

Thank you for pointing that out...some of those kids are so young they don't even have memories of their parent...so sad

12:57 AM  
Blogger Sminklemeyer said...

have you seen the corporations donating money to the military orphan homes? it's about time we spend our money on people in our own country!

5:13 AM  
Blogger Nicole said...

Thanks for sharing :)

Yes, last night I saw on TV that Buick, GMC, and Pontiac are donating $100 per vehicle for every vehicle sold through May 31. It's gratifying to see that the big corps are doing something.

6:41 PM  
Blogger Shannon said...

Back in 2000 I had the honor of interviewing Bonnie Carroll (the founder) for an article concerning the many wonderful things TAPS does for survivors.

It was my first "big" article assignment by the publication I worked for at the time. I was so nervous about not only writing something so important, but actually interviewing Mrs. Carroll by phone. She started TAPS after the loss of her BG husband in a C-12 plane crash eight years prior.

I just cannot say enough nice things about her. She understood it was my first time interviewing someone...and she was so gracious and kind to me. She answered all my questions with such patience...she really gave me my start at the publication. Prior to that article, I was the military wife with "possible" potential. My editor NEVER had a kind word for my previous articles and they were usually Fed-EX'd back to me with HUGE slash marks and rewrite notes from top to bottom ha! My article with Mrs. Carroll though - it was the only time he had a kind word for my work. I even got a call from the head guy saying I did a good job.

It was all Mrs. Carroll though...had she treated me like the peon newbie that I was, I might have been out of a job I desperately needed. The time she spent with me on the phone though...the way she made even my dumbest questions relevant - well, I just think the world of her and her organization. She is an inspiration to me and so many others....and I truly thank God for her and her organization. T*A*P*S is truly a wonderful organization - and a great place to donate money that will be put to great use for our nation's grieving families.

5:57 PM  

Post a Comment

<< Home