US Military Remembers Children of Fallen Troops

This story from the AFPS illustrates some innovative and attentive steps to look after children whose moms and dads won't come home from war. The US military has the resources to bring to bear on a program (TAPS - Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors) like this, but then again, they've lost a lot of troops in Afghanistan and Iraq and there's a real need for it. MP+

Children of Fallen Find Comfort at TAPS Camp
By Elaine Wilson
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, June 1, 2010 – Trevor Jones peers into the vivid blue sky, tightly gripping the string holding his balloon.

A warm breeze is blowing, and his blue balloon bobs against the dozens of red and white ones around it, each held by a child.




A volunteer with the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors’ Good Grief Camp sits with the child he’s mentoring before a balloon-release event in Crystal City, Va., May 30, 2010. The child’s message to a fallen loved one is tied to the balloon. DoD photo by Elaine Wilson

The children wait expectantly for the command. The cacophony of chatter dies down just moments before a woman calls out: “Let ‘em go!”

Trevor releases his balloon into the wind, where it joins hundreds of others rising into the sky. They separate and rise swiftly as the children tilt their heads back, squinting into the sun as they strain to keep an eye on their balloon. They don’t look away until the balloons become just distant specks.

Read the whole story here.