Word of Honor Fund

Keeping the Promise

Who will Honor his Word?

we will.

Our Mission Word of Honor Fund provides a continuum of support that facilitates milestone events for the surviving children of SEALs and Special Operations personnel who die while assigned to a select Naval Special Operations Group.

Our word is our bond and it is the purest form of trust. The most sacred of all is a father’s promise to his children. Word of Honor Fund is committed to fulfilling the intentions of each of our fallen heroes by ensuring his children experience life as he had planned before his sacrifice.

His untimely passing challenges his promise.

Who will honor his word? We will.

what we do Aspire to posthumously honor the promises made by fathers to their children in a manner that would have honored those whose lives were cut short in the line of duty.

Our Purpose Many of those who pay the ultimate sacrifice for our freedoms, leave behind an unwritten, unfulfilled legacy in their children. This is where the Word of Honor Fund begins.

In recent years, two major wars have taken significant tolls on our nation and our families. The overwhelming loss of so many heroes has created a void in the lives of their surviving children. It’s impossible to gage the pain and confusion endured by the children who are left behind as they attempt to navigate life without their fathers. The brutal reality for these kids is that they will grow up without the guidance of a hero and mentor, a beloved dad and male father figure. The affect of such loss cannot be measured.

As the brethren of fallen heroes, it’s imperative that we step in to help these kids during the intervening years that lead to adulthood. It’s our goal, and our responsibility to identify the means to honor promises made to them by their fathers, and see those promises through fruition to the best of our abilities.

Our pledge

We will honor promises through the gracious support of our donors, the trust of the surviving families, and the mentorship provided by the members of our special operations community.

Keeping the Promise Together we will fulfill the wishes and promises fathers made to their children.

Directly supporting the children of fallen Navy SEALs and Special Operations personnel who die while assigned to a select Naval Special Operations Group.

Word of Honor Fund is focused on honoring the wishes and promises of a father to his children, as he would have if still alive.

“The Word of Honor Fund is a blessing that is difficult to describe until you’ve come face to face with the reality that your husband and the father of your children is not coming home. Staying connected to the community and having men in my children’s lives who were connected to their father is so important to us all.”

- Surviving Mom

What it’s about Honoring the promises or intentions of a father and fallen soldier made directly to his children, spouse or other survivor prior to his death.

Addressing emotional and developmental needs of surviving children after immediate needs have been met, and throughout the child’s journey to adulthood, through the age of 18.

Mentoring surviving children in a manner consistent with the father’s known value system, character and spirit.

Fostering • Positive reflection of the father through carefully planned events • Personal growth through long-term interaction within the Special Warfare community • Community engagement outside the NSW community Connecting the child/children with teammates or friends of their father while interacting in a personalized, shared experience and environment.

When it Begins Upon the Death of the Father, surviving children are eligible for support any time deemed appropriate by the surviving parent.

Support for the surviving child will be provided upon registration by the surviving parent, and will continue for the child through the age of 18, at which point that same child has the option of becoming a mentor.

Registration methods for families include: • Website: visit www.wordofhonorfund.com • Email: Kathy Collins: kathy@wordofhonorfund.com Rosalie Shepard: rosalie@wordofhonorfund.com • Via your Command: Contact your Family Support Coordinator • By Mail: Family Information brochure & registration form *Word of Honor Fund respects the privacy and readiness of each family. It is our policy to provide information through outreach mechanisms that are congruent with NSW community norms and do not violate NSW community sensitivities.

Survivor Support Categories & Definitions Keystone: A cohesive source of support and stability; the central building block Cornerstone: Like the first stone laid in the construction of a foundation by a mason. It’s a point of reference for all other stones in the foundation and dictates the integrity of the entire structure Milestone (Support is designed around Milestones) A significant event in one’s life; a stone marker placed along side a road to indicate distance traveled; a turning point Capstone A final touch; a crowning achievement; a culmination

The Turkey Hunt a cornerstone Group Event What began as a conversation between two Teammates about taking a couple of kids on a Turkey hunt, quickly morphed into a weekend not soon to be forgotten. After talking with mothers about their husbands and then sharing countless laughs and stories with the kids over the course of the hunting weekend, my resolve to carry on and ‘Keep the Promise’ was reaffirmed.

The weekend started out on a nervous note. The gear showed up just in time as the weatherman called for severe thunderstorms over most of the evening and into the next day. We decided to continue on schedule and started rousting the kids from bed around 4a.m. for a crash course in Turkey calling and a little breakfast.

Just before sunrise the lightning subsided, so we went for it and loaded the kids up in spite of the rain. For some reason I made an uncharacteristically smart decision to put a blind out the night before, thereby setting us up in a dry place from which to hunt. In the tried and true fashion of ‘following in their fathers footsteps,’ the kids toughed it out and went hunting in the cold rain without a complaint other than, “where are the turkeys?”

Somehow, my group pulled off a small miracle.

As we approached our blind, we peeked over the ridge. The turkeys were already on the ground right in front of where we needed to be.

After a quick discussion, we voted to get down in the weeds and crawl up behind the blind, trying to get in without scaring the birds away.

Anyone who’s ever tried to kill a turkey knows you can’t sneak up on them, yet somehow we climbed in the blind undetected. By that time

several of the turkeys had taken off. We started making turkey calls to try and get the remaining birds a little closer. We weren’t having much luck getting their attention so I let the youngest (a 7 year old) use the slate call to see what he could do. Once he started making noise with the call, they all popped their heads up and started walking towards us, another unbelievable event in the turkey woods.

By then we were getting really excited. I was trying to keep them quiet and telling them not to move while the birds were getting closer all the while. They worked behind a small rise and a couple of minutes later – ‘Bam!’ we got our first bird. Hugs, laughs, high fives, and a bunch of pictures ensued and then we realized that it had taken us less than ten minutes—a virtual miracle in turkey-hunting circles. By the end of the day we had three turkeys down and the kids had migrated from sitting patiently in the woods trying to hunt, to exploring the farm and playing.

As we packed up late that afternoon, I felt the joy of what this day was all about. I witnessed all of these kids, some of whom had never met; forge a bond between themselves and their fathers.

I was not only fortunate in fulfilling a wish that I had discussed with one of my fallen brothers, but also blessed with the opportunity to establish a relationship with some of the families that I had previously only known through their fathers/ husbands.

Sincerely, “T” Father’s Teammate

Indy Kissing the Bricks a milestone Event I had the opportunity to host one of the surviving children and his mentor, who was a teammate and very good friend of his father, at the Indy 500 this year.

As you can imagine the Indianapolis Motor Speedway is a busy place, especially on the weekend of the Indy 500. With my obligations and other commitments, I was worried I wouldn’t have enough time to spend with the boy and his mentor. Randy Lamberjack (Word of Honor Fund board member) and his family were so nice to make this whole deal happen. Randy told me ‘don’t worry, everything will work out just fine.’

It’s great to have people like Randy so devoted to the Word of Honor. Thanks Randy for all your help!!

Anyway, this boy was a little shy at first, but during a conversation in our motorhome at the track, I mentioned how my father was killed at Indy when I was just a year old. I think from that time on, he realized that he wasn’t alone and that we were “on the same team.” I thoroughly enjoyed having them as my guests and we all had a great time together.

After the race we went out on the track and he had the opportunity to “kiss the yard of bricks,” and check out the winner’s pit box. I feel like this boy, his mentor, and I developed a bond that is hard to put into words, but a few sentences from an e-mail sent to me after the race from his father’s teammate explained a lot.

With his permission, I have included an excerpt from his email:

I do everything I can for him and his little brother. I never told their mom but I gave my word to their father one night...

Our team was set in an ambush position waiting on a mountainside for some savages that had ambushed and killed some army guys a few nights before. It was a strange night, very quiet. I remember feeling nervous about how quiet it was, that maybe we were spotted coming in to the area and we were getting set upon. A few hours went by and then I heard the father whisper my name. I turned my head and looked at him and nodded a ‘what’s up?’

He didn’t say anything at first and I thought maybe he heard something. We stared at each other for a few seconds and then he said, ‘Hey brother... If anything ever happens to me, make sure my boy is taken care of.’

I said, ‘Of course. No worries buddy.’ The rest of that night went as planned. That was in March of ‘03. The boy was 14 months old.

Over the next 8 years and 5 months that my teammate lived, that conversation never came up again. Thank you for helping me keep my word to my brother.

This is what the Word of Honor is all about and why I am so honored to have had a small part in making this trip happen.

Sincerely, Johnny Unser

Former Race Car Driver

our volunteer leadership team Kelly Collins: Fund Administrator Kelly is Word of Honor Fund’s liaison with the Command and the point person between the Word of Honor Fund military side and the donor side. He and his wife, Kathy, continue to be closely connected to the Naval Special Operations community, and maintain strong relationships with past and present command families.

The Honor Guard from the Idaho Air National Guard pays respects at a Word of Honor Fund event.

CPO USN (Ret), 1978-2000, BUD’s Class 104, UDT12, SDV-1, ST-6, ST-4 NSWGRUTWO, NSWDG; Post Retirement Jobs: Delta Air Lines, Pilot, Corporate Pilot and Executive Protection Specialist for a private oil company; Owner/Operator T.A.C.T. (Tactical Application Combative Techniques); USG Paramilitary Security Contracting.

Kathy Collins: Administrative Director Kathy develops and implements the Word of Honor Fund’s administrative processes on the military side. She works closely with the families, educating them about the fund and assists with the processes involved.

In addition to her many organizational skills, her vast and intimate knowledge of the community’s nuances and needs is a huge asset to the fund. Kelly and Kathy have two grown children, one grandchild and reside in Virginia Beach, VA. Sean Freitag: Chief Operations Officer Sean joined the Navy in 2000 and served as an active duty Navy SEAL at both ST-4 and NSWDG. Sean joined Word of Honor Fund in the summer of 2013 after leaving active duty with 13 years of honorable service. He was drawn to the fund in hopes of giving back to the SEAL community, and to care for the children of his fallen brothers. Sean’s strength in operational planning serves the fund well as he coordinates family support logistics and acts as a conduit to the active duty SEAL community. He resides in Indianapolis, IN with his wife and two children.

Sean is currently the Director of Security at Simon Property Group, as well as a reservist SEAL.

Rosalie Shepard: Outreach Coordinator Rosalie works closely with the Administrative Director in educating families and future mentors about Word of Honor Fund’s mission. Her motivation to raise awareness is fueled by her familiarity of the community and their families. Rosalie’s nurturing spirit and 16 years as a military spouse have been instrumental in developing the supporting architecture of the fund. When not busy as a volunteer, Rosalie is a licensed esthetician, a Registered Nurse Practitioner for 13 of her 19 years as a nurse, and most proudly, a blessed wife and mother of three young children.

Mari McStay: Fund Development Director Since its inception, Mari’s dedication to growing the Word of Honor fund along with her unswerving patriotism, underpins the fund’s mission. Mari is the point person for donors and those who want to host fundraising events for the benefit of Word of Honor Fund. Her fundraising and extensive event-hosting experiences are central to the successful development of the fund. Mari and her husband Gary have two daughters, one son, eight grandchildren and live in Idaho.

Leslie Benz: Communications Director Since 1995, Leslie has been involved in the catering/event planning/outfitting industry. She has spent the last 12 years volunteering in the non-profit sector, serving on development committees and coordinating fundraising events.

Her focus is on children and those affected by physical and emotional disabilities.

Leslie lives in Idaho and has two grown sons and a stepdaughter. Her role in the Word of Honor Fund is to coordinate special events in Idaho, as well as fundraising and donor relations.

Randy Lamberjack: Financial Administrator Randy is an accountant with nearly 30 years of experience in insurance financial regulation. He is president of Noble Consulting Services, Inc., an insurance regulatory consulting practice based in Indianapolis, Indiana. Noble is a specialized consulting firm that provides financial and compliance audits to insurance regulators throughout the US. Randy currently serves with nonprofit organizations as a treasurer and board member and participates in various fundraising activities. He and his wife, Cindy, live in Indiana and have two grown sons.

Ways to give Donate in 2014: • Online: www.wordofhonorfund.com • Mail: Please make your checks payable to

Word of Honor Fund. You may send them to: Word of Honor Fund P.O. Box 777 Bellevue, Idaho 83313

Word of Honor Fund is a division of CHARITYSMITH: National Society of Memorial Funds, a 501(c)3 public charity. All donations are tax deductible in accordance with federal tax laws. EIN 87-0636433

Word of Honor Fund P.O. Box 777 Bellevue, ID 83313

info@wordofhonorfund.com wordofhonorfund.com

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