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A Coast Guardsman’s Fight to Hold His Son Again
As a machinery technician in the Coast Guard, William Hamilton III spent nine years making sure the boat got to those who needed saving. But when it came time for his own emergency, he had a hard time believing it. “I knew what was up,” he says, “but I was being hardheaded.” He’d spent the…
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A Military Family’s Journey through Separation and Healing
Traveling halfway around the world for care is a daunting event, but that’s just what the Brice family of three had to do in April 2023. The Brices were living in Grafenwoehr, Germany where Army Staff Sgt. William Brice was stationed as a cavalry scout. After noticing that their young daughter had unexplained bruises, William…
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Army vet supports her Navy sister in tough hospital journey
“I went to Japan and I was ready to spend the next 20 years there,” Kayla Saska said, a former sailor describing her first duty station. “I loved it, the people, the culture.” Kayla, a high school athlete who scored well on the military entrance exams, excelled in the Navy school for her job, fire…
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Gold star sister reflects on time at Dover Fisher House
In 2020, Christina Phaneuf and her family got one of the worst calls that a military family can receive. Her brother, Air Force Capt. Ryan Phaneuf, had died in a crash. Her family was invited to Dover Air Force Base, Delaware, to meet Ryan’s remains as he returned to U.S. soil. “My brother was serving…
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Hero Miles supports family in time of crisis
Air Force Maj. Dan Campbell and his wife Heather experienced many uncertainties when their 9-year-old son, Isaiah, was diagnosed with a subglottic stenosis, or narrowing of the airway which would require a major surgery. Stationed in remote Alaska, they wondered how to keep the family together for the nearly 2,500-mile journey for his medical care.…
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Vietnam Vet Cares for Wife and Wartime Nurse
Ken MacMillan first met Judy while being treated for injuries sustained during the Vietnam War. Judy was a nurse at the hospital, and despite Ken’s repeated attempts to strike up a conversation, she kept their interactions strictly professional. “I was in the hospital as I met her before we even talked to one another. I…
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Fisher House guest is now scholarship recipient at University of Iowa
The big move to college from high school is intimidating for anyone, but Anyia Woods had a surprising reminder of past comfort when she saw that one of her scholarship applications, the one to the Scholarships for Military Children Program, was from Fisher House. That’s because Anyia, who is studying neuroscience, previously stayed at Fisher…
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Fisher House: Military Families Can Find Strength, Comfort, and Hope
When a service member or veteran is hospitalized, the world can stop without warning. A phone call. A diagnosis. A long road ahead. In those moments, families are not thinking about logistics or hotel costs. They are thinking about being there. About holding a hand. About not leaving. For more than three decades, Fisher House…
