'Survivors' gather to honor memory of loved ones

By Los Angeles Times

E-mail this article Print this article Search archive Most e-mailed articles

Related stories Services held for WW II pilot last seen 60 years ago The secret that ripped at a soldier's soul Pride and sorrow familiar mix for families of fallen Locke visits Normandy cemetery

They call themselves "survivors" of a military death — wives and husbands, mothers and fathers, brothers and sisters, sons and daughters, close friends.

The Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors, or TAPS, was founded in 1994 to help family members cope with the loss of a loved one serving in the military. The annual meetings, which include a candlelight service and a visit to Arlington National Cemetery, never exceeded much more than 100 people — until now.

On this Memorial Day weekend, nearly 400 — including a roomful of children — came to a hotel near the Pentagon. Many were participating for the first time in the conference, which began Thursday and ends today.

Barksdale Watkins, a 30-year-old health-care manager from Richmond, learned about TAPS when he came across its Web site, www.TAPS.org. He said he had been struggling to cope with the death in Iraq of his older brother, Air Force Maj. William Watkins III.

Watkins said that when he first contacted TAPS, he spent four hours on the phone talking to a volunteer.

"I don't feel so alone here," he said.

Copyright © 2004 The Seattle Times Company

E-mail this article

Print this article

Search archive

More nation & world headlines...