Remembering the Brave: Set a Place at Your Thanksgiving Table to Honor Our Fallen Heroes
A Seat of Honor at Every Table
As the golden hues of fall usher in a season of Thanksgiving, our thoughts turn to family, friends, and the joy of togetherness. Yet, in the warm glow of gratitude, we also remember those who are absent, our Heroes who have selflessly served and sacrificed.
Remembering the Empty Chairs
Our silent Table of Honor initiative starts with acknowledging the empty seats at our Thanksgiving tables. Each absent chair symbolizes either a Fallen Hero or a service member currently serving away from home. We encourage our supporters to reserve a place at their tables in quiet tribute to these courageous individuals. Even if your table is full with cherished family and friends, we invite you to take a moment to reflect and Honor those who cannot be with us.
Memories Woven into Every Meal
We pay Honor to the stories of our Fallen Heroes and those who continue to serve by setting the empty seat at our tables. As families across the nation prepare for their Thanksgiving feasts, we share tales of bravery and selflessness, connecting us all to the sacrifices that have preserved our way of life.
It is an Honor and a privilege here at T.V.P. to remember all our Heroes, whether they made the ultimate sacrifice at home or abroad, served in the military, law enforcement, or as firefighters, or are currently deployed, eating their rations from a bag or a styrofoam tray in the field. Each one deserves our gratitude for their sacrifices, and each family remembered as silent tears fall over empty plates.
Top Left: BG Terence J. Hildner (on right), at the mess hall on Fort Hood, Texas, on Thanksgiving Day, November 2005. He was the Commander of the 13th COSCOM Special Troops Battalion (now known as the 13th Expeditionary Sustainment Command (13th ESC). He died on 3 Feb 2012 in Kabul, Afghanistan. CSM Larry Brown (on left), also deceased. Photo Credit: Gold Star wife, Cindy Hildner; Right: Marines at Bahram Air Base, Afghanistan, 2019. Photo Credit: Jim Sterling. Bottom middle: CPL Christopher John-Lee “CJ” West, US Army, enjoying Thanksgiving 2007. “CJ” was KIA Feb. 4, 2008, Iraq. Photo permission: Hattie West. Bottom Left: Thanksgiving November 24, 1984 USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70)
An Invitation to Give Thanks and Remember
As you plan for a Thanksgiving of reflection and connection, consider extending your table to include those who have given so much.
We, here at Til Valhalla Project, wish you a very Happy Thanksgiving- from our family to yours. To those no longer with us: