Gestures of support and gratitude for military and veteran families often miss the mark and those same families are often excluded.
Military Family
Posted inReflections
A Hero Lived Quietly Across the Street. Little Did I Know He Helped Save the World.
The Nisei generation, of Japanese Americans fought bravely and honorably for a nation that viewed them with suspicion and incarcerated them.
Posted inReflections
Reuniting Dad With His Warship After 37 Years Was a Reminder That Life Is Fleeting
The legendary warship Dad served on—used in three wars and as the recovery ship during America’s first and second lunar landings—was now rotting in place.
Posted inReflections
My Dad Should Have Lived a Long and Joyful Life. His Love Was Meant to Fill This World.
My dad knew two things. He wanted to serve this country and wouldn’t live until his 40th birthday. His prophecies came true.
Posted inReflections
I Stare at the Empty Chair Next to Me. He Isn’t Coming. We Still Wait for Him.
We imagine what it would be like if Sam walked in. We know he won’t. We stood in the rain and watched as his flag-draped coffin was loaded on an airplane.
Posted inReflections
After Years of Nomadic Military Life, Permanence Can Be Frightening
My identity as an Air Force spouse was something I hadn’t planned for. I struggled to find myself in the chaos of brown boxes and tan packing paper.
Posted inReflections
‘Welcome Home’–For Years His Family Waited for His Return. Now, He Waits for His Daughter.
After years of deploying and coming home, veteran Ivan Ingraham is now on the other side as he welcomes his daughter home from a deployment.
Posted inReflections
Finding Empowerment in Choice, Asking for Help, and the Journey to Build a Family
As I began IVF, I felt grateful, empowered. But I mostly felt angry that VA would have covered my expensive medical procedure had I been married to a man.
Posted inReflections
I Wanted My Life as a Mom Separate From My Work With Death. I Had to Make Room for Both.
For months, Katherine Witt had managed to keep her roles as Air Force mortuary affairs officer and Mom separate. Then she had to make room for both.
Posted inReflections
I’d Never Fly the Osprey Again. My Heart Was Broken, Yet Somehow Full at the Same Time.
Death comes for all of us. That doesn’t mean we should live our lives in fear of it. Being a Marine is a risk. Being a pilot of any aircraft is a risk.
Posted inReflections
My Family Took the Straight-and-Narrow Path. Why Was I the One to Diverge?
My return from Afghanistan in 2010 and difficulties adjusting opened a door my mom had closed after her service in Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm.
Posted inReflections
My Yia Yia and I Both Endured War. This Is How We Carry It.
Tyler Stevenson’s grandmother survived the horrors of war. Long after his service in Afghanistan, he came to understand her.
