By now, I’m sure most of you have heard about the case of five families who have not only lost loved ones in Afghanistan, but are also being denied survivor’s benefits that would allow them to meet their loved ones as their remains are brought home at Dover Air Force Base.  Normally, the Department of Defense issues $100,000.00 to the families of service members who are killed, which allows them to keep home and hearth together while they take care of bringing their fallen home, taking care of funeral expenses, and waiting for the rest of their benefits to come on-line.   Unfortunately, the DoD has decided that, even though Congress and the President approved legislation that would allow it to do so, it will not be making these payments until the budget impasse is over.  For military families, not having these benefits means weeks spent worrying about bills, groceries, and travel and funeral expenses while paperwork for life insurance wends its way through the system.

My opinion on this is that it’s either a boneheaded decision that they now don’t feel they can back down from or it’s part a concerted effort to make the shutdown hurt the most vulnerable.  In either case, all it would take is a phone call from President Obama to Defense Secretary Hagel to get this taken care of.  Since it’s still happening, I’m guessing that such a phone call hasn’t happened.

In the mean time, good people are stepping up and filling the gap.  Fisher House, which runs a series of ‘houses’ near military and VA medical centers world-wide for service members and their families, has offered to cover the payments to the families of service members who have died since the shutdown began.  Rather than wait for Uncle Sugar to do what he has promised to do, this private organization is doing the right thing.  Fisher House has done right by my family in the past, and their support has been instrumental in the care and well being of our wounded warriors and their families for decades.

So far, that puts the charity on the hook for half a million dollars, which I’m sure wasn’t planned for.  If you’ve got a little extra, please consider heading over to their website and making a donation.  If they’re doing what needs to be done, they deserve our support.