"Thank You For Your Service"

In the movie, "Thank You for Your Service", who plays Saskia Schumann?

Who is the president and CEO of the Coalition to Salute America's Heroes?

What is the name of the Heroes Thanking Heroes Blog?

There is a retired U. S. Marine who is running 31 Marathons in 31 days to raise money for wounded veterans. What is his name?

What is the current challenge campaign the Heroes Thanking Heroes conducting?

What is the physical address of the Coalition to Salute America's Heroes?

The writer of American Sniper is the screenwriter and director of Thank You for Your Service, what is his name?

The movies is based off a bestselling book by a Pulitzer-Prize winner. what's the author's name?

What is the name of the program that is offered exclusively to veterans by the Coalition to Salute America's Heroes?

What is the release date of Thank You for Your Service?

Who wrote the song "Alive Day"?

When was the Coalition to Salute America's Heroes established?

Where was Thank You for Your Service filmed?

How do you donate via text to the Coalition to Salute America's Heroes?

What was the production company for Thank You for Your Service?

Sharing Our Time

"Mom, when are you going to do something with me?" 

 

"When you have time, maybe when the baby is sleeping can you help me?" 

 

These are only two of the questions that any new parent hates to hear from their older kids. I'm Sarah, wife to my husband Donny and mom to Gabby (14), Kollin (9) and our new baby Everleigh (8 weeks).

I think any parent can relate to wanting to make sure they're giving your new bundle of joy the love and care they need, while not neglecting the needs of older kids. Our daughter Gabby loves having a new baby in the house but she's at the time in her life where she needs to be close to mom & dad. She's 14, a freshmen in school and active in a handful of sports. Gabby loves to help out with her baby sister when she (Gabby) isn't babysitting, doing homework or doing things with her friends. It's tough because I remember how important being able to talk to my mom was when I started high school and I never really thought she had enough time for me. I don't want my sweet daughter to feel that way about me. 

 

My son Kollin is in 4th grade and just like most his friends, he wants to become a famous video game player or YouTuber! Kollin will try to catch my ear by telling me about a "Boss" or a level he's struggling with on one of his Xbox One games. Sometimes he only wants me to listen, even if I have no idea what he's talking about! (Which is most the time) But Kollin is our handsome little man who loves his sisters, LOOOVVVEEESSS playing video games. He can go upstairs and play online with his school friends and not be seen for hours and be perfectly content!

 

My husband and I have tried, and tried again to implement some alone time with each of our kids. Sometimes that means my daughter and I will steal away for Starbucks and mani/pedi or even just take her to Smoothie King and talk about life. With Kollin it usually is his dad playing video games with him, or even one of us taking him to a movie. Superhero or cartoon and he's happy as can be! We're always looking at making this work. We certainly didn't plan to have a new baby but now that she's here we see what a blessing she is. We just want to make sure that our kids are as happy as we are. 

 

Fall is here now which means more walks with our older two, more baseball and basketball in the driveway (that can literally last for hours) or even sitting outside with a hot chocolate and truly connecting with Gabby and Kollin about their day, their friends, their problems and really, honestly being there for them. 

 

How have you connected with older kids when a baby finds its way into your life? 

 

13 Years

Thursday, October 12th marked 13 years of us remembering my husband’s Alive Day.
Our family celebrates this day to recognize how close we came to having lost my husband and our children’s father. So many things can be said about this day, but one thing is certain, God knew Donny had more left to do on this earth.
I remember that day vividly, so much so, sometimes I wish I could forget. I don’t like to talk about the day he was injured. It’s been long enough for me where I’ve could move past this traumatic experience, but anytime I recount those memories the emotions come flooding back.
I was working full time and taking care of our 1-year old daughter when my husband was deployed. It was tough being a single parent but even more difficult having my husband overseas and in the line of fire day in and day out. You always wonder the what if’s. What if my husband doesn’t come home? What do you tell your 1 year old; or how do you tell a one year old their father isn’t ever coming home again? It’s not a healthy state of mind to be in, but things most families think about during a deployment.
My husband and his company were stationed near Al Mahmoudiya, a small farm and industrial area just south of Baghdad. Communication back then was a bit different then it is now, long lines for the computer and even longer ones for the phones. Email is how we communicated best. I remember getting to work the morning of the 12th and seeing an email from my husband. He wrote the normal, I miss you and wish I was there with you and our beautiful daughter and always ending with, I’ll be home before you know it. But at the end of the email this time, it was different. He wrote, he wasn’t sure when he would be able to write me again due to an upcoming patrol schedule, my heart sank. He always told me not to worry and that everything will be fine but this time it felt different. I responded right away, even knowing there is a 7-hour difference and that he probably wouldn’t get it right away, but I wanted it sent more for my piece of mind. I wrote, we love you and are praying for a safe return. I sent it and found myself re-reading his email over and over until I forced myself to close it. But something just felt off and uneasy about this email.
I was anxious all day and had a hard time concentrating on work. I couldn’t wait for my day to be over. I just wanted to be home with our daughter and be distracted by our little angel. Our night was spent watching the movies Donny made for us before he left, reading books, and finally going to bed. I refused to watch the news that night, I didn’t want to see any stories about the war and the latest casualties our military suffered. I just wanted this day to be over and start new.
Around Midnight the phone rang. I woke immediately but felt frozen. I knew if someone was calling me at this hour something was wrong. I answered and it was my husband on the other line, I relaxed a bit knowing I was talking to him. I remember him saying “Sarah can you hear me”, I immediately responded, “is everything ok”? He said, “I’m fine, please don’t worry.” I remember asking him over and over what is going on. He sounded muffled almost as if he had a bad connection, but later I would find out that it was his jaw that was broken and he couldn’t get what he was trying to say correctly. I finally asked him to please stop saying everything is ok and to tell me what was going on. Honestly at the time I thought he was going to tell me some of his marines were injured because he sounded fine, but he didn’t. He said, “I got shot but I’m ok”. I asked him where, where were you shot? And he responded in the face. I screamed. I screamed so loud I woke my daughter in the other room. I started crying hysterically, he kept telling me he’ll be fine and that he would see me sooner than expected. He wasn’t on the phone long when the surgeon said, we need to go. He told me he loved me and that I would hear from someone soon. Before I could even say I love you, the surgeon took the satellite phone and told me the news. He said ma’am your husband’s been shot in the face, we don’t know where the bullet is and we need to find out. I wanted your husband to call before taking him in. When he’s out of surgery we will make sure to report to his base and someone will be in touch with you. The phone went silent and they were gone.
To be honest what happened afterwards is a bit of a blur. I remember calling my sister right away trying to get out what just happened but I was crying too hard to form real sentences. I remember saying Donny’s been injured. She screamed and started crying, she finally gained her composure and said she was coming over. My daughter was still crying in her bed but I couldn’t move, I just sat in my room on the side of the bed in disbelief, hysterically crying to trying to figure out what next. I didn’t know what to do, who to contact that late at night; I was helpless. I was up all night hoping to hear from someone and going in and out of sleep. It was the longest 24 hours I’ve ever experienced.
Over the next several days, family would stop by showing their support and comforting me while awaiting word. Three days passed with no word on my husband’s status.  I didn’t know if my husband made it out of surgery or if he was recovering in the hospital. My daughter and I would spend some of the time up at the base awaiting word but nothing came. We would go home, wake up and go back in hopes something had changed. Finally, on the fourth day the phone rang, it was Donny. He was in now in Germany recovering, that is when I got the full story.
On the night of October 12, 2004, they were conducting security patrols in an area outside of our base they called “the ghetto”. Most of the time they were shot at while patrolling and even many IED’s and mortar attacks came from that area. After patrolling for a few hours, his team got a call that their base had received mortar fire and apparently, a few locals wanted them to know that when they got mortared, the people launching the mortars were loading the tubes into their cars and driving away. They received word to set up a vehicle check point which started with no issues during the first few stops. Then they stopped a car and the driver was mad, yelling and irritated that he was stopped. He drove away from their checkpoint backwards but while doing that he attempted to run over some of their Marines. They engaged him and before he and his vehicle stopped he had managed to shoot in my husband’s direction and one of those bullets hit him in the face. It fractured his jaw, damaged his sinuses and the bullet was still up inside his head. After surgery in Baghdad and stabilization in Balad he was sent to Landstuhl Germany for another several weeks. There was a lot of movement once he was out of surgery hence the reason of no communication.
Donny would stay in Germany for 2 weeks before being flown back to Bethesda Naval Medical Center. That’s where I met up with my husband and stayed with him over the next week. We flew home together to greet our daughter and after 2 weeks he would then fly to California and stay for the next year at Camp Pendleton while receiving treatment at Balboa Hospital. A seizure disorder, nerve damage, trouble swallowing, a migraine condition and a moderate traumatic brain injury were the result from his injury.
These past 13 years have not been easy. We’ve had our ups and downs but we are a family unit and always will be. We have a long road ahead but together we can face anything.

Hurricane Harvey, 800 Year Flood & Expecting

Hurricane Harvey was one of our country’s most destructive hurricanes to make land fall since
Wilma in 2005. The trajectory wasn’t certain with all the hurricane models coming in but one thing was certain, it was going to hit Texas borders, it was just a matter of where.
Everyone that knows my family understands we’re from the Midwest. We’ve never been through a hurricane and are fortunate enough to not have experienced one until Harvey. Every year before hurricane season we would get pamphlets in the mail and our local news would broadcast the importance on why you should be hurricane ready for hurricane season. But to be honest, I don’t think anything could have prepared us for what we were about to go through once Harvey made landfall.
It was Thursday, August 17th when the news first reported there was a disturbance in the Atlantic. At first it was a tropical depression but it was reported that it would more than likely become a Hurricane in a matter of hours. At the time I was almost 40 weeks pregnant about to give birth to our third child. I was looking forward to welcoming our little one to the world and to be done being pregnant. My due date was Monday, August 21st only several days away. I thought surely, I would have my baby before the storm hit but as fate would have it, we were in for a ride.
My due date came and went and I felt fine, no contractions, still only dilated to a 2 and 30% effaced. As disappointing as it was, there was nothing I could do. By this time the Hurricane had entered the Gulf and was upgraded to a Category 2 and predicted to become a 3 or 4 before landfall. The storm was set to hit Rockport, TX south of Galveston the coming weekend. Our local weatherman said we would see some rain and winds but not feel the direct impact of the storm. That gave me some relief knowing if I went into labor all will be fine and we could make it to the hospital.
My husband and I both went to the store to get some supplies and get ready for our first hurricane. We were a little excited about experiencing our first real storm since living near the gulf. We pulled up to the store and it wasn’t busy as you would expect it to be. We weren’t sure what to get, so we picked up the basics, snacks, a few cases of water, milk, bread and eggs. While checking out we started conversating with the cashier who was young man, college age more than likely and he asked us why we had so much water? We told him there’s a hurricane in the gulf that is set to hit south of us this weekend. He had no idea but didn’t seem too concerned, he smirked a little and said I wouldn’t be too worried, when Ike hit, they only experienced heavy winds and a little rain. His biggest complaint was the store would be busier than normal due to everyone gathering up supplies. We thanked him and headed home. The next day Hurricane Harvey was upgraded to a category 4. The direction didn’t change, but the size of the storm did which caused a little more concern. It was now being reported the front carrying the storm was slow moving and that our area would see more rainfall then first predicted. Now, all of Houston’s school districts cancelled school and most business decided to close to prepare for the storm. Hurricane Harvey hit landfall on Friday, August 23rd. That morning and afternoon weren’t terrible, it rained on an off, a few gusts of wind but nothing serious. Kids loved being out of school and just bummed around the house waiting for the storm to pass. Friday night rolled around and that’s when everything changed.
We went to bed Friday night with a heavy downpour, but nothing too serious just thinking it will calm down over the next few hours. Around 2 a.m. I was woken up by a loud bang of lightening that shook our entire house. I sat right up and it looked almost as if it were daytime. It was the scariest lightning storm I’ve ever experienced. The lightening was so close and loud as if the lighting was hitting our house each time. I remember looking out my bedroom blinds and screaming almost immediately with what felt like lightning struck right in front of me. My husband popped up from bed and asked me what was wrong, I told him and he fell back asleep with no concern. It was still raining heavily and thought I should go and check the front part of the house. I walked over to my husband’s office windows and couldn’t believe what I was seeing. Our street was completely flooded with water half way up our yard and the rain was still coming, I panicked! I ran and got my husband and told him what was going on. He came to the front of the house and we both watched in disbelief. Across the street our neighbor’s parent’s vehicle was parked in the street that had water to its doors this helped us gage how high the water was. Suddenly, their car alarm started going off, knowing the water was now in the electrical system, that car was officially taken by the storm.
What seemed like forever the storm finally let up for a few minutes. All at the same time every neighbor came out of their houses to assess what was going on and how bad everything was. Lightning was still flashing all around us, but we didn’t care, we wanted to see for our own eyes what had happened in the short time since the real down pour started. We took some pictures, yelled across the way to each other making sure everyone was ok and then rain started again.

It continued to rain all through the night into the morning. We were very fortunate that night and our home was spared from the floods. Many neighborhoods and friends were not so lucky. And sadly, this was just the first of many days we would have heavy down pours, it just didn’t seem real.
That morning my husband and daughter walked our neighborhood to see how everyone else faired and by this time the water was starting to recede. The pictures he sent me were shocking. All roads were flooded, our neighborhood lake was over the side walk nearing the back of homes. Never would’ve of thought it would get this bad.
Behind our home is our kids Junior High school, the city quickly transformed it into a shelter for flood victims. All day and night we would hear fan boats and helicopters coming and going dropping families off and heading back out to rescue other families. The news was on 24/7 showing the devastation that our city was experiencing and I just felt helpless. My husband and daughter took most of our supplies up to the shelter to help the many families that lost everything, they needed it more than we did. We lost nothing, and most of these families had to leave their homes with just the clothes on their backs. They spent a good portion of the day at the school helping distribute supplies and to lend a helping hand where it was needed. The stories they came home with were heartbreaking.
Sunday evening came and it felt like deja vue all over again. Another round with just as much rain, but with the grounds already saturated the water had nowhere to go. My family and I were frantically stacking furniture and moving items to our second level to avoid damage. Imagine a 40+ week pregnant woman frantically picking up baby furniture to avoid the potential of flood water getting into the newly finished baby room, it was truly awful. We did all we could to ensure we could salvage as much furniture and personal belongings in case we took on water. Thankfully we were spared once more. Now looking back, I thanked God for giving me more time before having my little girl. I couldn’t imagine having a newborn and dealing with the storm and all the uncertainties. Finally, the rain stopped and the water start to recede again giving my family hope once more. Everyone was glued to the T.V. watching the videos and pictures come across the screen. Two exits from us everything was under water. My heart broke for these families losing everything and waiting for rescues.
The water was finally off our street and we quickly realized we were running low. Not sure how the next few days would be he needed to restock. My husband did some checking and found that our local HEB was open and we knew word would get around fast. We ventured out in my husband’s truck driving slowly through the flooded streets. We made it to the store and my husband dropped me off in front to get in the line that was growing fast. They were letting in 10 families at a time to avoid chaos inside the store. As I stood in line, I found myself in a daze, seeing everyone’s faces, the lost look in their eyes, some people were arguing other’s crying it was truly a moment I’ll never forget. I remember standing there telling myself, don’t cry you’ve been strong this entire time, you’re fine. It truly felt like we were living in a different world. Finally, it was my turn to go in the store, and it was crazy. People rushing down the aisles trying to get what they could before someone else, or before another round of storms hit or; to avoid waiting in line to check out because those lines were building fast too. We gathered what we needed and headed home. On our way home a fire truck along with a truck pulling a boat went speeding down the road heading the opposite way from us and I just froze. That is when I lost it, letting everything finally sink in what we’ve been through and not sure of the unknown and knowing there is more rain to come I couldn’t hold it in any longer and I just cried. Knowing where those trucks were headed and what they’re going to do I broke and cried all the way home. Monday evening, we had a few small showers but most of the storm was finally moving out.
During Hurricane Harvey Houston received over 60+ inches of rain and taking 88 lives. The Storm has been called the 800-year flood one I pray to never experience again. The devastation our city experienced was immeasurable and be something we’ll never forget.
I went into labor at the tail end of the storm. We welcome our precious angel Everleigh Kay Daughenbaugh Tuesday, August 29th at 6:07 pm. I thank God for sparing our home and giving my sweet little girl more time before coming into this world during such a devastating time.
Driving around even almost 2 months from when Harvey made land fall, you will still see devastation all around; sheet rock, furniture, personal belonging piled up in front of people’s homes just waiting to be picked up by the city. Many families are still displaced and are awaiting help to get back on their feet. I will continue to pray for these families in hopes they find a place to call home again.
I used to love a good thunderstorm, but I doubt I’ll feel the same anymore.  It will be a constant reminder of what is now to be the worst storm in U.S. history.

-Sarah D.

Heroes Freedom Weekend

9/11 Memorial NYC

The following post was a letter written by Veteran Circle Program Manager Antoinette Batchelor -  sent to the couples who attended The Coalition to Salute America's Heroes very first Heroes Freedom Weekend. the event took place over 4 and a half days in 2 cities.

The event started in Washington DC where our Heroes were taken to visit monuments and memorials before a Train ride to New York City to visit Lady Liberty and culminating with a tour of the 9/11 Memorial with special guests Jack Scalia and Joe Torillo - former NYFD and first responder.

All attendees were members of The Coalition to Salute America's Heroes membership program The Veteran Circle.

To learn more about the Heroes Freedom Weekend view the Heroes Thanking Heroes newsletter later in the month. It was an exiting journey that will hopefully stay with the 13 couples who attended for many years to come.



Dear Heroes,

Wow! What a Ride.
When we first dreamed of the Heroes Freedom Weekend It was lacking a vital component, You!
It was you who made it such a success, one that will hopefully continue to help veterans for years to come. I cannot express to you the level of gratitude we have for your patience and understanding of the challenges of an inaugural event and most importantly we are so grateful for your service.

“Many of our nation’s heroes volunteered for war after the tragic events of September 11 2001.  The heart of many American warriors can be found at ground zero, but very few of them have been afforded the opportunity to visit this sacred site in person.”

The Heroes Freedom Weekend Team
Battery Park NYC

The above was part of the initial proposal for the Heroes Freedom Weekend sent to the Coalition’s CEO, David Walker.  My husband and I had just completed our very own freedom tour with the Perez family, visiting many of the sites we visited together last month. We followed a near Identical path to the one we walked with you.  I knew standing at the feet of Lady Liberty that this reconnection was something our Veterans needed. Not only a reconnection with our spouses, or our brothers and sisters in arms, but a reconnection with our country. So many veterans return and feel disconnected from the nation they fought so valiantly to defend. What better place to reconnect with the foundations of this Nation that it’s Capital.

And so began the Heroes Freedom Weekend.

We had 13 veterans attend, but it’s still not enough. We want 13 more, we want 130 more, we want 1300 more to walk those halls and hopefully start to heal. We had a great many hopes for the Heroes Freedom Weekend.  We hoped to strengthen marriages, we hoped to build brotherhood, and sisterhood, and family.  We hoped to give you an experience like none other so that you could walk away from and feel as changed as we did the first time (and now the second, and hopefully the third fourth and fifth times).

We hoped that we could give you back something you gave of so freely to your country. It might seem like a cliché, but we believe that every man and woman who picked up arms for this country, who saw a great evil and did something about it, despite having never stepped foot on the grounds, left a small part of their souls in the grounds of a field in Pennsylvania, the Brick of the Pentagon, and the foundations of Ground Zero when they signed on that dotted line. You sacrificed your health, your wellbeing, your limbs, your family, your peaceful sleep for this nation, and we are grateful to you.

We hope you were able to leave behind that which has been eating you all these long years, that you were able to lay at the base of the freedom tower your anger, your guilt, your sorrow, or whatever it is you’ve been using as a place holder and that you were able to pick up the part of your soul that is so filled with love of country it couldn’t bear to see it suffer.

We hope you found family and renewed strength. In spite of the challenges we faced we hope you knew without a doubt that you were surrounded by men and woman who have been where you are, are where you are or are headed in that direction and I hope you felt as I did that we were unstoppable. That no uber issue, tour guide or bus driver was going to stand in our way. What is the hustle and bustle of New York City when you have 13 other Veterans at your side?

I hope the challenges we faced, the uncomfortable situations, the iffy moments with New York’s more colorful inhabitants reminded you, that you are never alone. That for as long as we have each other, we have a battle buddy, and we never leave our family behind.

Thank you for making this dream of ours become a reality. Thank you also to Sara Miller who sacrificed sleep and sanity to make sure the Heroes Freedom weekend ran as smoothly as it did. She is a magician of logistics and without her the event would still be sitting in the maybe one-day pile. Thank you to Donny Daughenbaugh who you may not have realized just stared down Hurricane Harvey while welcoming a new born baby girl into the world. Thank you to his beautiful wife Sarah for sharing him with us.

-The Heroes Freedom Weekend Team.