Tag Archives: Families of the Fallen

The USO’s Iraq Legacy: A Decade of Evolving Support for America’s Troops

Posted on March 20, 2013 by | 2 Comments

This week marks the 10th anniversary of the United States’ invasion of Iraq.

While American forces have been out of that country for more than a year, the legacy of the war is still sorting itself out.

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USO photo

With the absence of a draft, the conflict pushed America’s all-volunteer force to bear its greatest burden to date, with multiple deployments becoming a large concern on the home front. While the death toll was comparatively low when pitted against previous American conflicts, the extent of the injuries – both mental and physical – were unlike anything the country had openly dealt with before.

But while warfare evolved, one thing didn’t change. Through the last decade, the USO was by the side of our troops on the battlefield and their families at home.

We were there providing millions of phone calls home.

We were there delivering the comforts of home to desert battlefields.

We were there with a video connection to the delivery room when babies were being born.

We were there when the dread of losing a loved one came into focus in the form of a temporary casket being transferred on the tarmac at Dover Air Base, Del.

And we were there when America’s heroes returned, hosting happy homecomings at airports for the majority of troops who made it back unscathed and providing programs for others to deal with the physical and invisible wounds of war. To better confront these issues facing wounded, ill and injured troops, the USO conceived and constructed two Warrior and Family Centers to help them and their families both recover and get on the right track to rewarding lives and new careers.

Thanks to the generous support of the American people, the USO was always by the side of our troops and families during the Iraq War. And we’ll continue to be there, wherever they go.

–Story by USO Story Development

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Posted in Troops

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USO Comforts Family of Korean War Soldier

Posted on February 27, 2013 by | 5 Comments
Army Pfc. Roosevelt “Jack” Clark's Yearbook Photo

Army Pfc. Roosevelt “Jack” Clark’s Yearbook Photo

Four volunteers reported for duty hours before dawn this morning at Los Angeles International Airport’s Bob Hope Hollywood USO to greet the remains of a fallen soldier.

As the flag-draped coffin containing the remains of Army Pfc. Roosevelt “Jack” Clark slowly rolled from the rear of the plane, his family could hardly contain their joy to finally bring him home.

It’s not that they’re happy he died. His family’s grief has lasted nearly 62 years. Clark was first reported missing-in-action while fighting with the 35th Infantry Regiment in North Korea in 1950. He was just 18.

His remains were recently identified among 208 boxes of human remains turned over to the United States by North Korea in the early 1990s. It was determined that he had died just three days before he was reported missing, when his position was overwhelmed by elements of the Chinese People’s Volunteer Forces.

“A dignified transfer is usually a very somber event,” said Bob Kurkjian, executive director of USO Greater Los Angeles Area. “We are always there to support families of the fallen, but this time was different.”

The USO is committed to supporting families of the fallen through our centers and partnerships with airport and service honor guards, as well as organizations such as the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS). USO staff and volunteers provide comfort for family members along the journey to the final resting place of the service member.

“This was the celebration of a soldier’s return home,” added Kurkjian. “We helped bring his family the closure they haven’t had for decades.”

Two of Clark’s cousins and his great-niece were there — alongside USO volunteers, airport police and firefighters — to welcome Clark’s remains.

“It’s a closure for us,” his cousin, Rennie Hunter, told KABC-TV. The hardest part about having a family member go missing, she said, is that “you just never know what had happened or if they will ever come back home.”

Clark grew up close to his cousins in rural Arvin, located just southeast of Bakersfield, Calif., and though it was his mother’s lifelong dream for Clark to return home, neither of his parents lived to see it.

Clark’s remains will be buried Friday in Bakersfield, KTLA-TV reported.

Questions about the USO’s support for families of the fallen can be directed to Wendy Fish, Families of the Fallen Support program manager, at wfish@uso.org. - Joseph Andrew Lee, USO Staff Writer

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Posted in Centers, Support, US, USO Warrior & Family Care

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USO Roundup: Fort Campbell, Dover and Houston Centers Make Headlines

Posted on February 21, 2013 by | Leave a comment

With more than 160 locations worldwide, news can slip through the cracks here at the USO. With that in mind, here are three items from the last few weeks you should know about:

  • The Little Things: The USO has a lot of initiatives for troops and families on the national level. But each USO location does a lot for the individual service members and families in its community, too. Earlier this week, Air Force Mortuary Affairs Operations video journalists did a piece on how USO Delaware stocks the refrigerators for the Fisher House at Dover Air Force Base. Fisher House – part of the families of the fallen community at Dover – offers a free place to stay for families who are repatriating remains of troops killed while serving overseas. Watch the video here.
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USO Fort Campbell Director Kari Burgess, center, accepts the Christian County Chamber of Commerce’s Non-Profit of the Year Award Feb. 12. USO photo

  • Honor for Service: USO Fort Campbell – one of our newest centers – was named Non-Profit of the Year by the Christian County Chamber of Commerce. The award – presented at the chamber’s Small Business Breakfast on Feb. 12 – was sponsored by WHOP-FM, a radio station in Hopkinsville, Ky.
  • Over the Airwaves: USO Houston Director Elizabeth Vallette did an interview with the Houston Public Affairs radio show last week about what’s going on in her center, at USO Houston’s tent at the upcoming Rodeo Houston BBQ Cook-Off and at other USO locations around the world. Vallette is a former Army captain who has gone from using the organization’s services during her deployment to Iraq to helping the USO care for today’s troops. Listen to her interview here.

–Story by USO Story Development

 

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USO/TAPS Programs for Survivors Demonstrate the Power of Listening

Posted on December 11, 2012 by | 1 Comment

Sometimes, the best thing you can do for someone is listen.

A USO/TAPS camp in Boston earlier this year ended with a balloon release. The balloons are released in remembrance of loved ones who died. USO photo by Michael A. Clifton

A USO/TAPS camp in Boston earlier this year ended with a balloon release. The balloons are released in remembrance of loved ones who died. USO photo by Michael A. Clifton

The inherent risk faced by America’s troops means their families are no strangers to tragedy. And just as the USO is there during the good times, the organization also makes sure it’s there when families lose a loved one.

The USO partners with TAPS—the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors—to host Survivor Seminars and Good Grief Camps that help military family members cope with a death and the overwhelming emotions that come with it.

USO Fort Hood hosted nearly 500 attendees and volunteers at the USO/TAPS Survivor Seminar and Good Grief Camp in July at the Spirit of Fort Hood Warrior and Family Chapel Campus. USO Fort Hood Director Robin Crouse estimates that her center cultivated between $15,000 and $20,000 in in-kind donations for the event, allowing them to provide expansive breakfast and lunch offerings to the attendees and the Fort Hood-based troops who worked as peer mentors during the two-day program. USO Warrior and Family Care also provided nearly $30,000 in funds for the event.

But their largest contribution may have been lending an ear.

The USO and TAPS will hold multiple Survivor Seminars and Good Grief Camps across the country in 2013. USO photo by Michael A. Clifton

The USO and TAPS will hold multiple Survivor Seminars and Good Grief Camps across the country in 2013. USO photo by Michael A. Clifton

“We made ourselves very available on a personal level to them, being able to listen,” Crouse said. “It’s just about being a very good listener and being able to give a hug to people when they need it. And it’s about being able to remember who that person is year after year so they feel like they’re coming back home.”

The Survivor Seminars provide an opportunity for adult survivors (spouses and parents) to learn about their grief and find positive ways to deal with it. Meanwhile, children from these families participate in Good Grief Camps at the same locations. Their days are filled with fun, educational activities under the guidance of peer mentors, who are servicemen and women who volunteer to help surviving children through the emotions of the camp.

Crouse said the USO’s standing within the military community adds a sense of comfort to the attendees, many of whom have been to multiple camps since Fort Hood started hosting the events in 2010. This comfort can lead to more open lines of communication and even life-changing experiences.

Crouse was especially moved by an attendee she connected with in 2011 who sought her out again upon arriving at Fort Hood this summer. The woman, who’d lost a loved one, brought a letter she’d sent to Crouse that was returned by the post office because of a bad address. When Crouse opened the letter, it contained a photo of the two of them from the 2011 camp. The exchange brought Crouse to tears.

“[These camps are] one of the most meaningful things I’ve done in my career at the USO,” she said.

—Story by Eric Brandner, USO Director of Story Development

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Posted in Support, Troops, USO Warrior & Family Care

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The USO Family

Posted on April 10, 2012 by | 2 Comments

Air Force Major Phil Ambard and his wife, Linda. Courtesy photo.

Air Force Major Phil Ambard was a family man.

“From the time he was a young Airman Basic through his commission as an officer 16 years later, he has been warmly greeted and taken care of at each USO,” said his wife of 23 years, Linda Ambard. “When we flew to Germany for the first time, we had five children under the age of ten, but we were made to feel like the USO was ours—that we were family.”

“This USO family has never meant more to me than when my Phil was killed in action on 27 April 2011.”

Her Phil was among eight Air Force officers shot and killed at Kabul International Airport by a 50-year-old Afghan Air Corps pilot.

Linda was left devastated and in a fog.

Their five children, including three Air Force Academy graduates and one who was attending West Point, flew to Dover Air Force Base from all around the world to meet their mother and repatriate the remains of their father.

The pain was so fresh; Linda couldn’t coordinate any of her own travel. She had trouble remembering the gates and felt dizzy navigating the crowds.

“At every single airport where there was a USO, we were each met by USO staff who walked us to our gate, brought us drinks, and who stayed with us the entire time,” she said. “They didn’t know us, yet they stood with each and every one of us.”

In Texas, while buying a magazine, she learned that all of her bank accounts had been frozen due to Phil’s death. The USO representative was quick to offer her some money, pay for her purchase and even spoke to the bank on her behalf.

“When we arrived at Dover, the USO came out with many volunteers,” said Linda. “Once again they had representatives for each of us. They allowed us to talk, make jokes—our family’s way of dealing with the stress—and they sat with me as I broke down yet again.”

Afterward, the family returned to Colorado Springs for the funeral.

“The USO ensured we were all seated together and near the front of the airplane,” she said. “This was no easy feat to get seven of us together, yet they did it for us.”

Eight months later, Linda knew that she couldn’t celebrate Christmas at home, so the family flew to Hawaii.  On the return trip, she and her cadet son spent 10 hours in the USO where their story eventually got out.

“The USO staff once again bent over backwards to make sure that we knew that people were walking with us and that we were still important to the USO family,” said Linda, “and I just want you to know that the USO was important to him and since his passing, the USO has meant so much to the Ambard and Short families.”

“He started as an immigrant boy,” she said, “but died as a man willing to stand up for the freedoms of all. He truly was an American hero.” — By Joseph Andrew Lee, USO Staff Writer

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Phil Ambard, 44, was born in Caracas, Venezuela. He didn’t speak a word of English when he moved to the United States at the age of 12. After graduating from high school, he enlisted in the United States Air Force as an Airman Basic. He rose to the rank of Senior Master Sergeant (select) before he was commissioned as an officer and then rose to the rank of Major before he made the ultimate sacrifice for his country.  He had recently graduated from Denver University with a Ph.D and his second master’s degree.

He is survived by his children Patrick, Emily, Alex, Tim and Josh, his daughter-in-law Karla and his wife Linda.

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Posted in Centers, Families, Pacific, Southwest Asia, Troops, US, Volunteers

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