Heroes Waiting
for Adoption
Living Legends
Thank you for the beautiful Pygmy Date Palm... Please thank everyone that made this possible. It will always remind us of Joe. It will be placed it at his favorite placed in my parents house, a back room where he would love to play his drums. - The Casanova Family
Who We Are and What We Do:
The Living Legends team conducts one of the most delicate and demanding missions of Soldiers' Angels: comforting the loved ones left behind when a warrior falls on the battlefield. Our goal is to make sure families and friends of America's fallen heroes know that they are supported and that their loved ones' sacrifices are honored and respected.
Living Legends began in May 2005 with a very small team of seven dedicated angels, and it has grown significantly since then.
Members of this special team send sympathy cards to grieving families to convey our compassion and heavy hearts--we reach out and wrap our "Angel Wings" around the families and loved ones who have lost so much. We also offer each family a wreath or live memorial tree to be planted as a symbol of our deepest sympathies and respect for their loss. Our hope is that this tree will grow and flourish, giving the family and friends a living monument to the honor and bravery of their loved one. In addition, we send out "Remembering" emails or cards on the anniversary of a fallen hero's death, so that their families know we will never forget them and their sacrifice.
The Living Legends team represents every member of Soldiers' Angels, contacting families on the entire organization; sometimes we stay in touch for many months at the family's request. The work is emotionally demanding, but deeply rewarding.
How to Help
If you would like to participate in this very special team, simply join Soldiers' Angels. Click here to get started! (if you don't receive a response within one week, please email Janet below; please note that we require team members to have adopted a soldier and been with Soldiers' Angels for six months before joining this team. If you are a Gold Star Family or have experience with grieving military families, contact Janet to request membership without the six-month wait). If you would like more information on the Living Legends team or know of someone who could benefit from Living Legends support, please contact Janet at livinglegends@soldiersangels.org.
To have a tree donated in your name to a hero's family please contact us at angels@soldiersangels.org or donate now:
Special Projects
Portraits of Memory - Living Legends coordinates with artist Michael Reagan, who works individually with families to create gift portraits of their fallen loved ones.
Patches the Bear - To support and encourage children who have lost a loved one to war, Living Legends works closely with PatchesKids.org. Patches Kids supplies grieving children with a cuddly stuffed animal named "Patches the Bear," who comes with special tools to help them cope with and express their feelings.
Memorial Wall Hangings - Families of the fallen with very young or unborn children receive a special quilted memorial of their loved one to display in the child's room (see below). These unique wall hangings are handmade by Living Legends Angel Sharon, who designs each one to be a unique expression of the child and the parent they have lost.
Fallen Heroes Blog - A small biography of every Living Legend Hero is posted on our special Fallen Heroes blog. We honor the fallen by sharing with you how they chose to live their lives in service to the United States of America and to each one of us. May we never forget all that they have sacrificed so that we might be free.
My wife and I would like to thank everyone for their support and cards in the death of our son. We were overwhelmed at all the response, every card or letter was very much appreciated. Our son died doing what he loved and we are so proud of him. Please check out his web site www.jason-burkholder.com. Sincere Thanks, Bruce & Diane Burkholder
Patti, just wanted to let you know that the two trees sent to us in Bedford, MA survived the winter. The little dogwoods for John Hart (airborne) and Travis Desiato (marines killed from our town) are planted at the entrance of the memorial park. There will be a Memorial Day ceremony where a name stone is dedicated for Travis, who was killed in November in Fallujah. It will go next to John's ,who was killed in Oct. 03 near Kirkuk. I promised you a picture and will send it as soon as the flowers bloom over there. Anyway, the Harts and the Desiatos wanted to thank you and yours for this fine thought. - Citizen of Bedford
Thank you so much for the cards and letters from everyone that took the time out of their day to pray and remember my family in the loss of our wonderful son, Jason. We could feel the pain and loss of our fellow Americans in the kind and uplifting word that was in the cards and letters. It a made a difference in our grief to know that there are thousands of others that have felt the same loss that we have felt. Again thank you for all the support and kindness you have shown us and our family. - Cathy and Rick P.
Living Legends Creations
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