People say that there are angels among us and when you hear Laura Herzog’s story you will believe she is one of them.
Laura Herzog’s first day of work as a public affairs officer, at the Joint Forces Training Base was on Nov.10, 2009. That was the day her life was changed forever. The reason; a 21-year-old Marine named Lance Cpl. Justin Swanson, from Camp Pendleton, that was killed in Afghanistan when a bomb exploded underneath his Humvee. Laura learned that she would be assisting in a dignified transfer of remains.
This was her first soldier that was coming home and she was determined to ensure that she did everything in her power to help his grieving family. She went to his family’s home to meet his family, to listen to the kind of person he was and then she arranged a heroes return with an honor precession with hundreds of people lining the street to honor him.
Lance Cpl. Justin Swanson was sadly the first of many fallen soldiers that Laura helped to honor, until the military cutbacks resulted in her losing her job. Rather than giving up in what she had started, she founded a non-profit called, Honoring Our Fallen Heroes.
Laura’s non-profit work isn’t just about funerals and processions, it can be anything from connecting a family to grief counseling services, delivering toys during the holidays, driving to deliver a son’s belongings to his parents, cleaning a gravestone or reaching out on a birthday. They pick up where the military ends.
As Laura said, “In my mind, it was more like, ‘How could I not start this?’ Not why. Every situation is different and every Family is different — but they are all Heroes — and deserve proper respect during the most difficult time of their lives.”
Laura Herzog is an angel that makes Charity Matter.
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