Everyday the members of our U.S. military in Afghanistan and Iraq put their lives at risk and everyday we receive a report that another soldier has fallen.  According to recent reports by the Associated Press, at least 4,483 members of the U.S. military have died since the U.S. invaded Afghanistan in 2001 and Iraq in 2003.

 

Our soldiers are making the greatest sacrifice imaginable.  They go out each day and night knowing that they may lose their life fighting for the freedom of the Iraqis, against the oppression of the Taliban, or in the war against terror.  Back in the U.S. we hear the numbers and we pray for the fallen knowing that they have sacrificed their lives for the cause.  But how often do we look beyond the numbers and truly look at the loss?

 

Every fallen soldier leaves behind family.  Do we take the time to think about the Father that has just lost his son or the daughter that has just lost her father?  How about the young boy that has just lost his mother?  The children and families of our fallen heroes have had their lives changed irrevocably.  There is no greater sacrifice.

 

How do they cope and what kind of support are they provided with to deal with this tragedy?  To be certain there are programs and support groups out there to help.  Some of these include the Army Long Term Family Case Management program to assist family members with support issues and dealing with benefits issues and Operation Homefront and organization dedicated to providing aid to families struggling with emergencies and problems with everyday life.  However, these families, especially the children, deserve more than just short-term support.  How can we provide them with long-term support or with support in the future?  A new organization, No Greater Sacrifice, has a mission that addresses one very important area of these children’s future, education.  Their mission states the following:

 

No Greater Sacrifice (“NGS”) serves to bridge the educational development and professional mentoring gap for the children of our nation’s fallen heroes. Our job is to help finish their work by raising funds to pay for college tuition and graduate degree programs and to provide professional mentoring for their children. NGS accomplishes its mission by funding the charities that are already on the ground working on behalf of this noble cause, including:

The Navy SEAL Warrior Fund
The Marine Corps – Law Enforcement Foundation
The Special Operations Warrior Foundation
And other local charities that support the NGS mission

This is a very important mission and one Veteran Journal supports strongly.  Please consider getting involved to support the children of our fallen heroes.

 

To get involved with No Greater Sacrifice you may visit here – Get involved with NGS

 

Or

 

You can make a donation here – Donate to NGS