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| A L W A Y S I N O U R H E A R T S |
Operation Remembrance In The News
| The |
Army spouse helps families of fallen Soldiers
SGT. PAULA TAYLOR
4th BCT, 1st Cav. Div. Public Affairs
As the flowers wither and dry up next to his headstone, she sits
quietly at home, alone in her bed. Tears run down her cheek. She
weeps softly to keep from waking the children who are just down the
hall. A picture of him in his Army dress uniform sits on her nightstand
to serve as a reminder of the man he used to be before he was
killed in action. This snapshot of a grieving Army spouse is more
common than most people are willing to imagine. Often times, there
is little comfort for many of the family members of fallen Soldiers. But
one Army wife has made it her mission to do all she can to make the
road to recovery a little bit easier.
Kristen Pirog, a Monroe, Mich., native, whose husband, Maj. John
Pirog, is serving with the 4th Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry
Division here, founded a nonprofit volunteer organization called
Operation Remembrance, which provides memory boxes to the
families of fallen Soldiers.
Pirog said the project was started at Fort Benning, Ga., in May 2005,
with the help of her friend and neighbor, Julie Pierce. “I moved back
to Benning to be close to my parents while my husband
John was stationed in Saudi Arabia for a year,” she said.
While Pirog was there, she received word that a friend of her and her
husband’s, Capt. Stephen Frank, had been killed in action when
serving during Operation Iraqi Freedom. Pirog said what she
remembered most when her sister Katie died of cancer, was the
outpouring of love and support and the anecdotes and stories
people shared about her sister’s life. “Years later, I wished I had
captured those memories to reread and share with my young
daughters who would never know Katie,” said Pirog.
Wanting to do something for Frank’s wife and son to remember
him, Pirog decided to give them a keepsake box. “The memory box I
gave to Stephen’s wife was filled with letters from his Army family that
I hoped would become a treasured connection to his life and legacy,”
said Pirog. “I realized all the families of fallen Soldiers deserved a
special keepsake. That was the beginning of Operation
Remembrance.
“The chaplain at Stephen’s funeral said, ‘Memories help fill the void
that is left by the loss of a loved one.’We hope the memory boxes we
give to families can do just that,” added Pirog. The boxes are made
of cherry wood and have a velvet-lined interior, she said. The hinged
lid has a glass front opening large enough to display a 4” x 6”
photograph.
“When we present the boxes, there is a personalized letter from the
Army spouses at Operation Remembrance that expresses our
sympathy and explains what we hope the memory box symbolizes,”
said Pirog. “We also tie each box with a yellow ribbon.” So far,
Operation Remembrance has sent out 82 boxes, Pirog said.
Twenty-nine of those were given to the families of 3rd Infantry
Division Soldiers at a special memorial service held Friday, which
coincided with the welcome-home activities at Fort Benning.
The memory boxes have been funded through donations from
Pirog’s friends and family and through some of the profits from a
book she authored entitled An Army ABC Book. “We provide boxes
to the spouse – or parents, if the person was single – of Soldiers
killed in Afghanistan and Iraq, but recently we have started sending
boxes to the families of Soldiers that have died tragically on
active duty,” said Pirog. “I always have mixed emotions. There is a
sense of accomplishment, but it is always tempered with the sadness
that the box I am shipping represents the life of a Soldier. Eventually,
we hope to reach out to the retiree community as well, but
unfortunately we currently do not have the manpower or funding
available.”
In addition to sending the boxes to Fort Stewart, Benning, Bliss,
Drum, Wainwright, Hood and Schofield Barracks, they have also sent
them to Arizona, Michigan, Kansas, Illinois and Kentucky.
“As an Army brat and Army spouse, I get the chance to give back
to a community I have been a part of for most of my life,” explained
Pirog. “My father returned home from Vietnam when I was 6 months
old and I will never take that for granted. I never know when I will be
sending a box to another friend. It is heartbreaking work at times, but
I believe it is so very important.
“One of the most touching e-mails received so far read ‘I received my
keepsake box two days ago and I would like to say thank you.
Sometimes I feel that I am forgotten by the military community. It is
nice to know people still care. It is a beautiful idea and I am touched
by your compassion.’ It still amazes me that in their time of grief, the
families take time to thank us,” added Pirog.
“Military families make such an incredible sacrifice and bear a
tremendous burden in everyday life,” said Pirog’s husband, John. “It
is important that those families who have lost a loved one, to always
remember how much the military community appreciates their
sacrifice and mourns their loss. I believe that I, and most Soldiers,
could never hope to be successful at our job without our spouses
and families love and support. Kristen wants all of our
fallen Soldiers’ families to know how important their Soldier and their
families are to us and our nation,” he said.
“Kristen cares so deeply for all military families. As an Army brat,
she has received so much from the sacrifices of so many and I think
that she wants to do as much as she can to show military families
how important they are to the success of the military,” added John.
“Kristen really empathizes with all that our families are going through
and she has been touched by every loss.
“I truly believe this project found me,” concluded John. “Everything
fell into place and the response has been phenomenal. Army
spouses are a strong, supportive bunch and Operation
Remembrance could not have gotten this far without their
help. Operation Remembrance is not about me, it is about Army
spouses reaching out to Army families.”
For more information about
Operation Remembrance, visit their
website at www.operationremembrance.org.
COURTESY PHOTO
Kristen Pirog, founder of Operation Remembrance, prepares a
memory box for shipment. Operation Remembrance is a non-profit
organization that sends cherry wood boxes to the families of fallen
Soldiers.
SGT. PAULA TAYLOR
4th BCT, 1st Cav. Div. Public Affairs
As the flowers wither and dry up next to his headstone, she sits
quietly at home, alone in her bed. Tears run down her cheek. She
weeps softly to keep from waking the children who are just down the
hall. A picture of him in his Army dress uniform sits on her nightstand
to serve as a reminder of the man he used to be before he was
killed in action. This snapshot of a grieving Army spouse is more
common than most people are willing to imagine. Often times, there
is little comfort for many of the family members of fallen Soldiers. But
one Army wife has made it her mission to do all she can to make the
road to recovery a little bit easier.
Kristen Pirog, a Monroe, Mich., native, whose husband, Maj. John
Pirog, is serving with the 4th Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry
Division here, founded a nonprofit volunteer organization called
Operation Remembrance, which provides memory boxes to the
families of fallen Soldiers.
Pirog said the project was started at Fort Benning, Ga., in May 2005,
with the help of her friend and neighbor, Julie Pierce. “I moved back
to Benning to be close to my parents while my husband
John was stationed in Saudi Arabia for a year,” she said.
While Pirog was there, she received word that a friend of her and her
husband’s, Capt. Stephen Frank, had been killed in action when
serving during Operation Iraqi Freedom. Pirog said what she
remembered most when her sister Katie died of cancer, was the
outpouring of love and support and the anecdotes and stories
people shared about her sister’s life. “Years later, I wished I had
captured those memories to reread and share with my young
daughters who would never know Katie,” said Pirog.
Wanting to do something for Frank’s wife and son to remember
him, Pirog decided to give them a keepsake box. “The memory box I
gave to Stephen’s wife was filled with letters from his Army family that
I hoped would become a treasured connection to his life and legacy,”
said Pirog. “I realized all the families of fallen Soldiers deserved a
special keepsake. That was the beginning of Operation
Remembrance.
“The chaplain at Stephen’s funeral said, ‘Memories help fill the void
that is left by the loss of a loved one.’We hope the memory boxes we
give to families can do just that,” added Pirog. The boxes are made
of cherry wood and have a velvet-lined interior, she said. The hinged
lid has a glass front opening large enough to display a 4” x 6”
photograph.
“When we present the boxes, there is a personalized letter from the
Army spouses at Operation Remembrance that expresses our
sympathy and explains what we hope the memory box symbolizes,”
said Pirog. “We also tie each box with a yellow ribbon.” So far,
Operation Remembrance has sent out 82 boxes, Pirog said.
Twenty-nine of those were given to the families of 3rd Infantry
Division Soldiers at a special memorial service held Friday, which
coincided with the welcome-home activities at Fort Benning.
The memory boxes have been funded through donations from
Pirog’s friends and family and through some of the profits from a
book she authored entitled An Army ABC Book. “We provide boxes
to the spouse – or parents, if the person was single – of Soldiers
killed in Afghanistan and Iraq, but recently we have started sending
boxes to the families of Soldiers that have died tragically on
active duty,” said Pirog. “I always have mixed emotions. There is a
sense of accomplishment, but it is always tempered with the sadness
that the box I am shipping represents the life of a Soldier. Eventually,
we hope to reach out to the retiree community as well, but
unfortunately we currently do not have the manpower or funding
available.”
In addition to sending the boxes to Fort Stewart, Benning, Bliss,
Drum, Wainwright, Hood and Schofield Barracks, they have also sent
them to Arizona, Michigan, Kansas, Illinois and Kentucky.
“As an Army brat and Army spouse, I get the chance to give back
to a community I have been a part of for most of my life,” explained
Pirog. “My father returned home from Vietnam when I was 6 months
old and I will never take that for granted. I never know when I will be
sending a box to another friend. It is heartbreaking work at times, but
I believe it is so very important.
“One of the most touching e-mails received so far read ‘I received my
keepsake box two days ago and I would like to say thank you.
Sometimes I feel that I am forgotten by the military community. It is
nice to know people still care. It is a beautiful idea and I am touched
by your compassion.’ It still amazes me that in their time of grief, the
families take time to thank us,” added Pirog.
“Military families make such an incredible sacrifice and bear a
tremendous burden in everyday life,” said Pirog’s husband, John. “It
is important that those families who have lost a loved one, to always
remember how much the military community appreciates their
sacrifice and mourns their loss. I believe that I, and most Soldiers,
could never hope to be successful at our job without our spouses
and families love and support. Kristen wants all of our
fallen Soldiers’ families to know how important their Soldier and their
families are to us and our nation,” he said.
“Kristen cares so deeply for all military families. As an Army brat,
she has received so much from the sacrifices of so many and I think
that she wants to do as much as she can to show military families
how important they are to the success of the military,” added John.
“Kristen really empathizes with all that our families are going through
and she has been touched by every loss.
“I truly believe this project found me,” concluded John. “Everything
fell into place and the response has been phenomenal. Army
spouses are a strong, supportive bunch and Operation
Remembrance could not have gotten this far without their
help. Operation Remembrance is not about me, it is about Army
spouses reaching out to Army families.”
For more information about
Operation Remembrance, visit their
website at www.operationremembrance.org.
COURTESY PHOTO
Kristen Pirog, founder of Operation Remembrance, prepares a
memory box for shipment. Operation Remembrance is a non-profit
organization that sends cherry wood boxes to the families of fallen
Soldiers.
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| Operation Remembrance |
| Monitor Published for the Fort Bliss/El Paso Texas Community |