Gary sinise salutes families of the fallen

Matthew became a Green Beret, the toughest of the tough. He deployed twice to Iraq where he helped capture more than 200 insurgents. During a Christmas Eve mission, his team came under heavy

attack. A badly wounded sergeant needed blood to survive; Matthew donated two pints of his own before swiftly returning to the fight. In the intervening years, I have had the honor of

becoming friends with Matthew’s parents — Al, a former Massachusetts state police captain, and Kathy. Along with their daughters, Matthew's sisters Lisa and Melissa, they founded the

Staff Sgt. Matthew A. Pucino Memorial Foundation to keep their fallen hero Matthew’s memory alive, honoring his legacy of service by providing for the physical and emotional needs of combat

wounded soldiers and their families. Another bereaved family member who is determined to give back is Regina Sather, whose husband Staff Sgt. Chad Simon, 32, died in August 2005 from combat

wounds sustained in Iraq. Regina says Chad was a skilled marksman and mechanic, but also a practical joker. She also says Chad was an amazing father to Dylan, who was just five at the time.

Regina has dedicated her life to raising Dylan and channeling her pain to help others who have lost loved ones serving their country. I am grateful and honored that Regina is now an employee

of the Gary Sinise Foundation, doing an amazing job working on our Snowball Express initiative. Snowball Express serves the families of our fallen military heroes as well as families of

fallen first responders. We are committed to year-round support for these families, encouraging them to make new memories, and helping to provide opportunities for them to connect with

others who have suffered a similar loss. Family members of fallen soldiers gather for a Snowball Express event. Courtesy Gary Sinise Foundation Snowball Express was actually started in 2006

as its own 501(c)(3) and I began supporting it the following year by donating my band to play for the children. Each year I would return to play for them, hundreds of children being flown in

free of charge by American Airlines for an all-expenses paid trip. In 2018, we folded Snowball into the Gary Sinise Foundation as an initiative under our Relief and Resiliency program, and

moved our annual event to Disney World. Last month, along with our presenting sponsor American Airlines, once again the Gary Sinise Foundation was proud to host more than 1,800 military

children and adults at our Snowball Express "Disney in December" event, while this year adding a second event for over 300 families — 646 children — of fallen first responders.

Over the course of five days, these richly deserving families experienced the magic of Disney World and spent time with the only people who can truly understand the healing journey they are

on: each other.