2012 story: Ft. Bliss Gold Star families come together for Christmas

2012 story:

The children of seven Ft. Bliss gold star families will open gifts on Christmas Day without their dad. And seven army wives are missing their fallen soldiers more than ever.

“That saying were you have to take it a day at a time, you literally have to take it a day at a time,” saidCatherine Ignacio who recently lost her Army husband.

Two organizations are here to help and bring support to these families through their tragic transitions. Survivors Outreach Services and Operation Giveback joined forces to bring the Christmas Project Program to Fort. Bliss, providing each family $200 per child.

“The holiday season brings a lot of mixed reactions and emotions because it’s suppose to be a time of great joy and celebration but it can also be a time of sadness and loneliness,” saidLew Lewis, program coordinator of Survivors Outreach Services.

Lonely especially for the Ignacio family who lost their father and husband to natural causes in August, just one month before his and Catherine’s seventh year anniversary.

“When I wake up there are days when I wish it was just a dream, just a bad dream.,” Ignacio said. “And then there are moments when I would try to call his cell phone. There are moments when I would send a text message and that when reality hits and like, you need your moment to grieve and just take it a day at a time.”

And today, they did, enjoying the generosity of a community there for them during the Christmas season, when their loved ones, aren’t.

2012 story