FORT RILEY, Kan. -- Parents, spouses, children and siblings who have been awarded the Gold Star pin by the Department of Defense of the loss of a loved one in the line of duty met for a land navigation course with volunteers from the 287th Military Police Company, 97th Military Police Battalion, Oct. 15 at a training ground on Fort Riley.
The event was in honor of Gold Star Mother's and Family's Day, which occurred Sept. 25 but was recognized at Fort Riley Oct. 15. Gold Star Mother's and Family's Day is a day to recognize the commitments, sacrifices and contributions by Gold Star mothers and their families. It also serves as a way to keep the connection strong between Gold Star families and the Army, according to Army.mil on the Gold Star Survivors webpage.
"We're having Gold Star families come up and do land navigation," said 2nd Lt. Joshua Love, 287th MP Co., 97th MP Bn. "The purpose of that is to show them we appreciate everything they have done as Gold Star family members. I mean, their sons, daughters, husbands, wives, family members made the ultimate sacrifice and what better way to show them that we appreciate them than by showing them they're still a part of our family and doing some cool Army stuff."
About 20 Soldiers served as teachers and guides to help the family members locate their three assigned points for the land navigation course. Each family split up into one or more groups with two or three Soldiers and their kit consisting of a map, protractor and compass.
Together with the Soldiers, the family members trekked their way through tall, wet grass and wooded areas to attempt to locate each of their points in about 40 minutes' time.
"(They're learning) what their family members did and how they were serving … just to see a little bit of what their family members did in the Army," Love said.
While some groups were only able to locate one point and others got a bit lost, one group was able to find all three of their points and an additional one before returning to the starting area.
Marti Williams, widow of Sgt. 1st Class Justin Williams, was a part of the group who located four points along with her 6-year-old son, Adrian. For Williams, this event was a special one as her husband was a part of the 287th MP Co., 97th MP Bn., and she said he loved to teach and conduct land navigation courses.
As Williams watcher her son work with the Soldiers to locate their next point, she said she hopes her son is as skilled at land navigation as her husband was and he finds the same passion for it.
"Hopefully he takes after his father and is just as good at it," she said.
After their course was complete, the family members observed a 97th MP military working dog demonstration and had lunch at Grimes Hall.
Becky Ewing, mother of Sgt. Zachary Ewing, attended the event with her son Trenton Pittman. This was Ewing's first event with the Gold Star organization after Zachary passed in August. She said Brig. Gen. Patrick D. Frank, 1st Infantry Division deputy commanding general, encouraged her to be a part of the Gold Star organization and helped oversee the memorial arrangements for her son at Fort Riley.
"It's good to be able to keep in touch with other people that are going through the same things and just having things we can do to keep the Army in our lives."
Social Sharing