Saturday, April 30, 2011
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Rest In Peace Army Specialist Joseph A. Kennedy
To The Protesters
For all the free people that still protest, you’re welcome
We protect you and you are protected by the best.
Your voice is strong and loud, but who will fight for you?
No one standing in your crowd.
We are your fathers, brothers, and sons
Wearing the boots and carrying the guns
We are the ones that leave all we own,
To make sure your future is carved in stone
We are the ones who fight and die
We might not be able to save the world,
Well at least we try
We walked the paths to where we are at
And we want no choice other than that
So when you rally your group to complain
Take a looking the back of your brain
In order for that flag you love to fly,
Wars must be fought and young men must die
We came here to fight for the ones we hold dear
If that’s not respected, we would rather stay here
So please stop yelling and put down your signs
And pray for those behind enemy lines.
When the conflict is over and all is well
Be thankful that we chose to go through hell.
Author Unknown
Remember Him
Yesterday was a hard day for me. After finishing my April Rememberings, the current emails, and getting nine new emails while working on them, I had a total of 28 sympathy cards written. On top of working on my cards, we were greeted in the morning with the news of the Afghan officer that shot and killed eight US soldiers and a US contractor in a meeting in Kabul. At the bottom of the news article I read it included that two other troops had been killed in separate incidents Wednesday as well. I know the spring upsurge is difficult, its something that I've tried to ready myself for, but I don't think you can ever prepare yourself enough. Then I feel selfish because I've never met these soldiers, at least not yet have these soldiers been my family members or my friends; we have miraculously been lucky. But they are someone's husband, wife, mother, father, son, daughter, cousin...
I can't accurately express how or why I feel so connected to these warriors; I just know that their lives, their stories, their legacies are important-they do mean something. The work that goes into the window to their life that arrives in my email is a true gift. I feel its an honor to be able to write these families and express my thanks and my sorrow. There's so little I can do, maybe nothing I can do to ease their pain; it almost leaves one feeling helpless, but I can try to give them this little piece, this little thought that their child, their spouse, their loved one is thought of, is remembered, is valued.
In one of the emails I recieved yesterday, a father spoke of his son that had been killed in action. His words were, "What he did, it was a calling--America cashed a check on my boy," he said. "Don't forget him." I think that sums up exactly why I will keep writing these cards, even when its hard-because I can give these families that; I can show them that their loved ones' are not forgotten. They will always be remembered.
I can't accurately express how or why I feel so connected to these warriors; I just know that their lives, their stories, their legacies are important-they do mean something. The work that goes into the window to their life that arrives in my email is a true gift. I feel its an honor to be able to write these families and express my thanks and my sorrow. There's so little I can do, maybe nothing I can do to ease their pain; it almost leaves one feeling helpless, but I can try to give them this little piece, this little thought that their child, their spouse, their loved one is thought of, is remembered, is valued.
In one of the emails I recieved yesterday, a father spoke of his son that had been killed in action. His words were, "What he did, it was a calling--America cashed a check on my boy," he said. "Don't forget him." I think that sums up exactly why I will keep writing these cards, even when its hard-because I can give these families that; I can show them that their loved ones' are not forgotten. They will always be remembered.
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Our Heroes and their families
I am proud to be a part of this group. Any kindness and help we can give the families is the very least that we can do.
Monday, April 25, 2011
This Week I Say Goodbye...
This week a Fallen Hero will be laid to rest. This fallen hero happens to be very near and dear to my heart as I knew him as a child. This week I will stand beside the family and friends not only as a faithful member of Heavens Heroes, but also as a mourner of the life now lost. I am, unfortunately, not able to attend the actual funeral but I will be there for the honor transfer, the visitation, and the burial. My heart weeps for the family, and also for myself. It will be hard to step into the church I grew up in to say goodbye to him.
Please keep the family and friends of Spc Joseph A. Kennedy in your thoughts and prayers.
I will probably post about my experiences this week at the end of the week when all is said and done.
Thank you to all of you who have reached out to show your support for his family as well as for me.
Please keep the family and friends of Spc Joseph A. Kennedy in your thoughts and prayers.
I will probably post about my experiences this week at the end of the week when all is said and done.
Thank you to all of you who have reached out to show your support for his family as well as for me.
No Coincidence
I've always been a person of faith, as in someone that believed there was a God, or a higher being at work in our lives, but until I became really active in troop support work and with supporting the families of our fallen did this really become apparent in my life.
This past November, I received an email notification about the death of a soldier in my area. It told his story, his parents addresses, showed his picture, and something about him just spoke to me. My husband was able to run up and salute his procession leaving the airport and head to the funeral home. My kids and I watched my husband from the car as traffic didn't allow us to get out in time and join, but I was so proud of him for being able to stand there for his fallen brother-even though he had never met him.
My husband and I decided to attend his wake and were given the name of the soldier's uncle from an organization I volunteer for locally. When we arrived, the Patriot Guard was out with their flags, standing at each door, and doing a wonderful job to support this hero. . Inside the funeral home was another story. There were family, some friends, two separate casualty officers as the parents had a difficult time being near each other; but there was no line for this soldier. I will never forget that. Maybe it was the time of day, but I hope no funeral home is ever that empty for a 21 year old soldier that gives their life in service to this country. I had the privilege of meeting his uncle, hugging him and expressing our condolences, passing on a card for the local organization and letting him know to pass on to the rest of the family that they are not alone, any help they may need is a phone call or arms reach away. they had a video playing of his landing in Dover and the honors displayed for him there. There would be no open viewing for this soldier; it was closed with a flag draped over it. As my husband and I walked away, there was a boy of about sixteen standing there wearing an Army tie. I looked at him and he said to me, "He was my brother," and I immediately hugged him, thanked him, told him I was so very sorry, and started crying. There were pictures of the soldier enjoying life, his friends, the Army; there are no words for the feelings I had that day.
Exactly a month after his wake and funeral (he was buried on Veteran's day); I participated in Wreaths across America here in Illinois. One of the women I know that runs one of the local organizations here also organizes WAA each year. It is beyond anything I ever imagined it would be. It is an amazing experience in itself, and I can write more about that later. But this day, I was thinking of my fallen soldier, because that's how I think of him now. I knew he was buried in this cemetery but had not been able to look up where before going out there. I was saddened to think he wouldn't have a wreath. I was the head of one section and needless to say, this fallen soldier was on my mind all day. I even mentioned him to a few people while we were placing wreaths, saying I knew a soldier that had been buried just a month ago. Returning home that day, a Saturday, our mail came and that day, that VERY day, our mail had a card from this soldier's family thanking us for coming to this wake, for honoring their soldier. On the day of Wreaths across America when I had been thinking about him all day, this is when I heard from his family, and in it they had his mass card.
An hour or so later when pondering the coincidence of it all, I checked the cemetery website and they had a grave locator online. If only I had thought to check that before going to the cemetary but in the end, that's how life works out. So, I check for my fallen soldier, and will you believe that the section I was the head of, the section of a thousand graves, out of 10,000 was the section my soldier was buried in? I was heading section Seven and there he was. I could picture the spont he had to have been in. I had spoken of him while walking through the snow and placing wreaths. And there he was.
When I sad down and really thought about it, I don't think any of it is a coincidence. I think it falls under the saying "God works in mysterious ways". As I type this now, I'm still struck by the amount of ways he worked. When we arrived at the WAA event, we signed up and were given Section Seven, it wasn't a pre-determined thing. When we got to the section-the leader hadn't shown up, and I became the head because no one else was a part of the organization, so I took over by default. It just meant I spent a lot of time there, thinking, walking, honoring...
I have since been able to keep in contact every now and again with my fallen soldier's uncle. They miss him dearly but are trying to cope and help other Gold Star families cope together. I wouldn't have known about this soldier without email notifications from a very special group of people. The work we do is important. These soldiers are more important than words can say. God Bless all of you for what you do.
This past November, I received an email notification about the death of a soldier in my area. It told his story, his parents addresses, showed his picture, and something about him just spoke to me. My husband was able to run up and salute his procession leaving the airport and head to the funeral home. My kids and I watched my husband from the car as traffic didn't allow us to get out in time and join, but I was so proud of him for being able to stand there for his fallen brother-even though he had never met him.
My husband and I decided to attend his wake and were given the name of the soldier's uncle from an organization I volunteer for locally. When we arrived, the Patriot Guard was out with their flags, standing at each door, and doing a wonderful job to support this hero. . Inside the funeral home was another story. There were family, some friends, two separate casualty officers as the parents had a difficult time being near each other; but there was no line for this soldier. I will never forget that. Maybe it was the time of day, but I hope no funeral home is ever that empty for a 21 year old soldier that gives their life in service to this country. I had the privilege of meeting his uncle, hugging him and expressing our condolences, passing on a card for the local organization and letting him know to pass on to the rest of the family that they are not alone, any help they may need is a phone call or arms reach away. they had a video playing of his landing in Dover and the honors displayed for him there. There would be no open viewing for this soldier; it was closed with a flag draped over it. As my husband and I walked away, there was a boy of about sixteen standing there wearing an Army tie. I looked at him and he said to me, "He was my brother," and I immediately hugged him, thanked him, told him I was so very sorry, and started crying. There were pictures of the soldier enjoying life, his friends, the Army; there are no words for the feelings I had that day.
Exactly a month after his wake and funeral (he was buried on Veteran's day); I participated in Wreaths across America here in Illinois. One of the women I know that runs one of the local organizations here also organizes WAA each year. It is beyond anything I ever imagined it would be. It is an amazing experience in itself, and I can write more about that later. But this day, I was thinking of my fallen soldier, because that's how I think of him now. I knew he was buried in this cemetery but had not been able to look up where before going out there. I was saddened to think he wouldn't have a wreath. I was the head of one section and needless to say, this fallen soldier was on my mind all day. I even mentioned him to a few people while we were placing wreaths, saying I knew a soldier that had been buried just a month ago. Returning home that day, a Saturday, our mail came and that day, that VERY day, our mail had a card from this soldier's family thanking us for coming to this wake, for honoring their soldier. On the day of Wreaths across America when I had been thinking about him all day, this is when I heard from his family, and in it they had his mass card.
An hour or so later when pondering the coincidence of it all, I checked the cemetery website and they had a grave locator online. If only I had thought to check that before going to the cemetary but in the end, that's how life works out. So, I check for my fallen soldier, and will you believe that the section I was the head of, the section of a thousand graves, out of 10,000 was the section my soldier was buried in? I was heading section Seven and there he was. I could picture the spont he had to have been in. I had spoken of him while walking through the snow and placing wreaths. And there he was.
When I sad down and really thought about it, I don't think any of it is a coincidence. I think it falls under the saying "God works in mysterious ways". As I type this now, I'm still struck by the amount of ways he worked. When we arrived at the WAA event, we signed up and were given Section Seven, it wasn't a pre-determined thing. When we got to the section-the leader hadn't shown up, and I became the head because no one else was a part of the organization, so I took over by default. It just meant I spent a lot of time there, thinking, walking, honoring...
I have since been able to keep in contact every now and again with my fallen soldier's uncle. They miss him dearly but are trying to cope and help other Gold Star families cope together. I wouldn't have known about this soldier without email notifications from a very special group of people. The work we do is important. These soldiers are more important than words can say. God Bless all of you for what you do.
Monday, April 18, 2011
Welcome All
Welcome to Heavens Heroes "blog spot" everyone! First of all, big thanks to Tawny for setting this up for all of us. GREAT job Tawny!
Okay - I'm not sure exactly how my name will appear here...because I also have another blog I created in honor of and in memory of my dad - so, I am also "D-Day Daughter"! Now you all know! Just an "FYI" in case you all see that instead of Louise Doucette Johnson :) It looks like the two might be tied in.
My first thought here is to thank all of you that followed Janet and I from Soldiers Angels to create our own place to pay homage to all our troops that have paid the ultimate price of freedom for us with their lives. I don't think that there is anyone that will dispute the fact that our goal is to focus on supporting the families and loved ones that these brave men and women have left behind.
I won't speak for Janet, although I think I know her well enough by now to say that her decision to leave SA after all her years of volunteering with them plus her 22+ years in the Air Force, was not a decision she made very easily let alone the anxiety, stress and loss of sleep that went into that decision. But - that was then and this is now :-) For me, I wanted a place where I could simply focus at the tasks at hand -- supporting our fallen heroes and their families without all the distractions of idle "high school" gossip. We have the options to make this exactly what we'd like to have and as detailed as we'd like. It's up to us. If anyone has any suggestions or comments always know you can pass them along to us because without you we won't grow.
I hope everyone has a wonderful Easter this weekend and if you're traveling, be safe! I will be flying back home to Boston, MA to spend it with my mom and three brothers this year!
Take care everyone!
Louise
Sunday, April 17, 2011
Welcome!
Welcome to the new Heavens Heroes official blog! Anyone who would like to contribute is welcome to contact me about being added on. After all, we are all here for the same reasons, to support the men and women who sacrifice everything for us, and their families.
I am sorry that this post is going to be very short. I just wanted to get the blog up for right now and I will add more content this week, promise!
Thank you all for your hard work, dedication, and support for our troops and their families.
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