Honor and duty can be strong but loss is painful. Read and listen to stories of others who understand.

Articles

  • Bereaved Military Family Members and Veterans Invited to Participate in Grief Study

    April 7, 2019

    Guest Column by Stephen J. Cozza, M.D Memorial Day is coming and our nation will pause to honor the service and sacrifice of our fallen military service members. Deaths in the decade after September 11, 2001 largely resulted from sudden and violent causes, including combat, accidents, and suicide. Even during peacetime, deaths in the military […]

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  • Zaneta Gileno: TAPS Helps After Military Deaths

    October 6, 2018

    Zaneta Gileno works for the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS), a non-profit that supports people who lost loved ones in the military. As the Director of Community-Based care, Gileno helps connect people to individualized grief counseling. She spoke with Dr. Heidi Horsley during the 2015 Association for Death Education and Counseling conference about her […]

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  • Carole Hilton: TAPS for Widows

    October 3, 2018

    The Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS) was a buoy for Carole Hilton, who discovered the program just a few days after her husband died. He was an active member in the Navy, and when the officer arrived at Hilton’s doorstep to deliver the news, within the paperwork was a TAPS brochure. Hilton talked with […]

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  • Why Some Families are Resilient

    December 20, 2017

    Kathleen Gilbert is based at Indiana University and specializes in grief counseling with military members and their families—however, she also works to help families build resiliency during deployment (without any deaths occurring). Gilbert spoke to Dr. Gloria Horsley during the 2015 Association on Death Education and Counseling conference about what she’s working on and how […]

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  • September 11th – 16 Years of Grief

    September 11, 2017

    Sixteen years ago, our resilience as a country was tested when nearly 3,000 people were killed in the Sept. 11th terrorist attacks.  We have come a long way since then, and I have watched as NYC has rebuilt, and bereaved families have once again found hope. I was honored to spend ten years with 9/11 […]

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  • Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in the Military

    May 31, 2016

    Dr. Heidi Horsley talks about military post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) with Dr. Ed Tick, an expert in the field. He’s the author of “War and the Soul” as well as four other books. He’s the director of Soldier’s Heart and has worked with military members and their families for several years. There’s a difference […]

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  • Stephanie Groepper: Spouse Loss

    February 29, 2016

    Losing a spouse is unexpected, since you see yourself growing old with this person. Dr. Heidi Horsley talks to Stephanie Groepper, a military widow. She’s a psychology student and the founder of Washington Warrior Widows, a non-profit for widows and widowers in Washington State. Groepper’s daughter is seven years old, and was only four months […]

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  • Diana Wright: TAPS Youth Programs

    February 13, 2016

    The recent National Alliance for Grieving Children conference brought together Dr. Heidi Horsley and Diana Wright of TAPS Youth Programs. She’s been a volunteer for five years, and came on staff as a programs coordinator. She first learned about TAPS in 2007, and learned how incredible the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors is for bereaved […]

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  • Darcey Fairchild: Nature-Based Grief Programs for Teens

    November 20, 2015

    At the conference for the National Alliance for Grieving Children, Dr. Heidi Horsley talked with Darcey Fairchild who works with TAPS, an organization which serves military families. She began her work just over two years ago in Montana. It was a means of incorporating her love for nature-based programming and her background in social work. […]

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  • Traumatic Loss in the Military

    October 7, 2015

    Military loss is a unique kind of loss, but many others have been in your shoes. Bonnie Carroll shares her experience with Dr. Gloria Horsley. Carroll is the founder of TAPS (Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors in the military). According to her, military loss is a very different experience. There are different words in our […]

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  • Summer Memories of my Father

    August 3, 2015

    Summer always comes with the memory of my father, Col. Billy F. Nunley’s funeral.  The funeral service was on July 2nd and that made the fireworks and military tributes of  July 4th a painful echo of the ceremony performed by the Air Force Honor Guard. The sky was a clear blue, the kind of day […]

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  • Don Lipstein: Losing a Soldier Son to Suicide

    July 27, 2015

    In this episode of The Open to Hope Radio show, Drs. Gloria and Heidi Horsley interview Don Lipstein, who is a Peer Mentor Support and Training Coordinator for the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors of Military Loss (TAPS). Lipstein began working with TAPS in the summer of 2012, shortly after the suicide death of his […]

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  • Helping Military Kids with Traumatic Death

    March 28, 2014

    Ordinary fears are a normal part of a child’s developmental growth, and children create internal and external mechanisms to cope with these fears. But a child’s ordinary fears can be transformed into very real survival fears in the face of severe trauma. After children experience the death of a parent, they often feel alone and […]

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  • Supporting Military Families After Combat Death

    August 11, 2011

    The devastating loss of 30 military service members in Afghanistan has left more than 300 people grieving the death of someone they love. Many people, even if they do not personally know the families of those who died, want to know how to express their condolences and support the families left behind. Reaching out to […]

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  • Hats Off to a World War II Vet

    May 29, 2011

    Yesterday was a wonderful day. While standing in line at the pharmacy, the gentleman behind me smiled. I don’t go to the CVS to make friends, but somehow yesterday I did. This older fellow’s smile, along with his vet’s hat, was engaging. He looked too young to have been in WWII so I asked him. […]

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  • Heaven Bound

    May 6, 2011

    Heaven Bound   Year after year On your special day Mother’s Day I brought you flowers Gave you a hug and kiss Reminded you how special you were.   Every one of those years I knew you were grateful For my gifts and my love Yet, a sadness remained In your beautiful blue eyes It […]

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  • How to Support Families Grieving After Fort Hood Tragedy

    November 9, 2009

    The horrific tragedy at Fort Hood has sent our nation into mourning, and many want to know how to express their condolences and support to the families left behind. Reaching out to express condolences is a natural and heartfelt reaction to tragedy.  TAPS, the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors, offers the following tips for those […]

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  • Siblings of Military Casualties Offered Help

    October 26, 2009

    A sibling relationship should be a lifelong friendship, but for those losing a brother or sister who served in the military, the pain and sorrow can be overwhelming. Adult siblings left behind must contend with their own grief and shock, adjust to an altered family structure and assume new responsibilities. To help brothers and sisters […]

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  • God Will Answer My Prayers

    October 21, 2009

    In 1968 my brother, Danny who was 19 years old was killed in Vietnam. At the time, I was 15 years old. His helicopter was shot down and according to eye witnesses exploded in mid-air and then landed on the banks of a river. Because of heavy, enemy ground fire his body was never recovered. […]

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  • Alleged Killings by U.S. Soldier Remind Us of War’s Psychological Toll

    May 31, 2009

    By Dr. Norman Fried — The headlines of many U.S. newspapers this week report that five Americans are dead after a U.S. soldier opened fire at a U.S. base on Camp Liberty in Baghdad, where soldiers were receiving psychological treatment for the stresses of combat or from personal issues. The shooting causes all of us […]

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Open to Hope TV

  • Episode 152: Needs of People Coping with Mass Violence, Trauma and Military Loss

    December 10, 2018

    On This show Dr. Gloria and Dr. Heidi Horsley interview Sallie Lynch Development Consultant for Tuesday’s Children, which works with 9/11 families, military families and communities impacted by traumatic loss, and Amy Tucci CEO of Hospice Foundation of America and the executive director of the TAPS Institute for Hope and Healing® regarding providing grief resources […]

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  • Episode 128: Coping with the High Profile Death of a Child

    April 10, 2018

    On this show Dr. Gloria Horsley and Dr. Heidi Horsley will interview Jamie Bright and Delain Johnson, about coping with the high profile death of a child, and how they coped. Danielle was murdered by her boyfriend.  Delain is Vice President of Bereaved Parents USA, and a licensed counselor, specializing in grief and loss. Her […]

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  • Episode 103: TAPS-Supporting Military Families

    May 11, 2017

    On this show Dr. Gloria and Dr. Heidi Horsley interview Zaneta M. Gileno, LMSW, CT Director, Community Based Care and Professional Education and Emily Munoz, surviving spouse of Gil and director of the TAPs Inner Warrior Health and Wellness program regarding programs for those who have lost a loved one in the military.

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  • Episode 84: Military Loss with Jeanne Harris Weaver and Donn Weaver

    September 25, 2016

    On this show Dr. Gloria Horsley and Dr. Heidi Horsley interviewed artist Jeanne Harris Weaver and her husband, Donn Weaver, a retired Foreign Service Diplomat.  Their son, Todd, an Army Ranger, was killed while on deployment in Afghanistan.  In his memory, Jeanne created twenty-one pictures in the year following Todd’s death.  A tribute clip is […]

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  • Episode 60: Traumatic Sibling Loss: Finding Hope Again

    December 14, 2015

    On this show Dr. Gloria Horsley and co-host Alan Pedersen, Executive Director of The Compassionate Friends, interview two guests regarding coping with grief after a traumatic sibling loss. The first guest is Megan MacFarland, sister of Staff Sgt.Marc Small, who was killed in Afghanistan in 2009. The second guest is Zander Sprague, whose sister was […]

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  • Episode 43: Military Related Suicide

    May 7, 2015

    On this show Dr. Gloria and Dr. Heidi Horsley discuss with Janet Burroway, New York Times best selling author, her book “Losing Tim” a memoir about the death of her oldest son, Tim, a U.S. soldier and contractor who served in Iraq and died by suicide in 2004 at age 40. They then show a […]

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  • TAPS and Military Death: Dr Heidi Horsley

    February 25, 2013

    Dr Horsley talks about TAPS, Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors of Military Loss, this amazing organization serves military families.  

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  • Dr. Ed Tick and Dr Heidi Horsley; Military Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

    October 24, 2011

    Dr. Ed Tick and Dr Heidi Horsley; Dimensions of Grief and Loss in Military Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. How we can help our soliders.

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  • Bonnie Carroll: Grief and the Military

    May 9, 2011

    Bonnie Carroll & Dr Gloria C. Horsley, talk about traumatic loss in the military and the TAPS community.

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