The Patriot Volume 12, Issue 1

Page 13

Left Page Photos: (Left Photo) Ben and Beau pay their respects to Jeremy on Jan. 7, 2010. (Right Photo) Ben in Afghanistan in 2012. Photo Above: Jeremy, Jean, Ben, Beau, Mary and Heather at their home in Hope, Arkansas.

“Fisher House at Dover Air Force Base and then in Germany made life so much less stressful in the darkest times,” said Beau. “I am so grateful to everyone that was there for me, Traci, my mother, and father,” he said. “Having to grab an overnight bag and go with virtually no time to prepare. We were given food, winter clothes, and a place to stay directly across the street from Landstuhl hospital, so that we didn't have to worry about anything except being there for Ben. Fisher House will forever hold a very dear place in my heart. God bless Fisher House for all you do for veterans and their families.” Both the Landstuhl Fisher Houses and The Fisher House for Families of the Fallen played very important roles in helping the families of severely wounded and fallen service members throughout the last 20 years. The first Landstuhl Fisher House was built after the USS Cole bombing in 2000. It opened the summer before 9/11 and has been a place of comfort for families of injured service members. The Fisher House for Families of the Fallen is the only one of its kind. It was dedicated on Nov. 10, 2010, in time for Veterans Day. “Our mission here and at [Air Force Mortuary Affairs Operations] is to honor and respect the fallen and to provide care, service, and support to the loved ones who come to witness them coming home to American soil,” former Dover Fisher House manager Air Force Master Sgt. Stasia T. Smith said. “I want them to know that the people that are there are taking care of them, they mean it, and that their deceased member, their loved one, did not pass away in vain.”

Fisher House founders sketched cartoon

Coast Guard veteran Karla Nemitz and her husband, Petty Officer Bret Nemitz, spent Thanksgiving at Fisher House Alaska as they waited for the best gift to arrive: a baby girl. The family is stationed at U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Mustang in Seward, Alaska, but because of a lack of local medical facilities and the difficulties of a three-hour drive to the nearest hospital, they were sent to Anchorage a month before their baby was due. They arrived in November 2020, and their baby, Penny, was born on December 21st. The family was home by Christmas and was blessed with several parting gifts from Fisher House. During the wait, the couple volunteered to clean, take out the trash, and help with general household chores. “We were happy to help while we waited for Penny. Staying at Fisher House meant so much to Bret and me,” said Karla. “Being so close to the hospital meant we didn’t have to worry about how we were going to get there and instead could focus on our family.” Karla, a gifted illustrator, was inspired by the story of Zachary and Elizabeth Fisher and sketched a cartoon of the Fisher House founders. To see more of Karla’s work, follow her on Instagram art.by.karla or on Facebook at Art by Karla.

“It’s important that the Wise family and all families who have made the ultimate sacrifice understand that Americans are very grateful,” said Fisher House Foundation Chairman and CEO Ken Fisher. "We dedicated The Fisher House for Families of the Fallen because their sacrifice must be honored.”

THE PATRIOT • VOLUME 12 • ISSUE 1 • 2021

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