Graham testimony: military family burdens and family recognition

The Valone Initiative, the VAB.

I was happy to see the vice chair of the board, Dr.

Nelson speak.

And as usual, it's very powerful.

I am going to throw it out there.

She did mention, it's not for me to say, she can go into detail.

I know she speaks to everybody that's there in person about her late husband.

Dr.

I was about to say doctor, Sergeant Mario Nelson is coming up on 20 years.

He was killed in action right after I came back from Baghdad.

And the one thing I do want to mention, I always say this, is that

There's always such a focus on military members that the service members that deploy, they do leave something behind, and that's the family.

And the family, they go through as...

They deploy also with the service members.

You're talking about spouses that...

Have to do double, triple duty and not only work, if some of them do work, but they're raising a family on their own, they're taking care of the household.

And I'm glad that Mecca, Dr.

Nelson, she brought up not just Gold Star families, unfortunately here locally in Queens,

We've seen it all over.

We witnessed a Blue Star family very quickly become a Blue Star family.

No, a Blue Star family become a Gold Star family with the past.

of Sergeant Rampersad in Ozone Park.

And I'm glad she brought up the White Star families, Silver Star families.