Dover Air Force Base is where America’s fallen heroes are welcomed home with honor after giving their all for the nation while fighting overseas.
The families of the fallen who travel to Delaware to accompany their loved ones home have a special place of care and comfort as they make that heartbreaking final journey, the Dover Fisher House.
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“I would be lying if I tried to tell you that this didn’t have a special place in my heart,” said Fisher House CEO and Chairman Ken Fisher. “This is the only house that serves the families of the fallen.”
“They would go there and after doing the unthinkable, they would just go to a motel, a cheap motel,” he said. “I just figured they deserved better than that.”
The origins of the Dover Fisher House can be traced back to a call Fisher received a decade ago when the then Secretary of the Army told him that the families of the fallen stayed in hotels at their own expense after arriving in Delaware on their mission.
The Dover Fisher House was built in six months from groundbreaking to dedication 10 years ago and has served over 3,700 families.
“We really paid attention to detail,” added Fisher. “We even looked at colors that were conducive to calm and to grieve. The house was designed with that in mind.”
Dover Fisher House manager Air Force Technical Sgt. Kayla Hemmesch said the facility is set up for shorter stays.
“Our mission is very sacred,” she said. “Everything is on family time.”
And everything at the house revolves around what the families need and want. For example, families can opt to cook their own meals or the staff will cook whatever they want to eat for them.
The Dover House is also the only Fisher House to be staffed by military personnel.
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“The five on my team are deployed here for sic to seven months from bases around the country,” she explained.
Fisher said the staff at all Dover and the 90 other houses have a special nickname.
“They are just amazing people who take the mission to heart, They and the volunteers who come in we call our Fisher House angels,” he said.
The other 90 Fisher Houses currently in operation provide a home away from home for families staying with their wounded heroes receiving care at military medical centers.
To learn more about the Dover Fisher House and the Fisher House Foundation visit here.
Reach Julia LeDoux at Julia@connectingvets.com.
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