Families who lost a parent to military combat board Snowball Express for free trip to Disney
Michael Logerwell
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) – It’s a club no one wants to belong to, but for kids who have lost a parent due to combat, it can be a lifeline.
On Saturday, the Snowball Express took flight, giving kids a chance to create new memories and forge new friendships with others who know what they’re going through. Everyone boarding the flight had lost a parent in the service.
While that was the common denominator, it wasn’t the tone of the afternoon. In fact, it started with a warm welcome with a live brass band at the Colorado Springs Airport.
The fanfare was all in anticipation of a free trip to Disney World aboard the Snowball Express, part of the Gary Sinise Foundation.
For five days, families get to hang out in the happiest place on earth with friends who are going through a similar struggle.
“When we talk about the importance of taking care of these families, these young. Children, some of them weren’t even born, yet some never met their parent. It is our country’s obligation, and the people that live in this country owe that to those family members that have passed away and to those families that still have to move forward,” said Pam Swan, an ambassador with the Gary Sinise Foundation.
If the name sounds familiar, Gary Sinise was the actor who played Lieutenant Dan in the award-winning film, Forest Gump.
Now his foundation honors the memory of fallen soldiers by ensuring their families are not forgotten.