JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — It may be the food that brings the families to the table, but it's the fellowship and unfortunate bond of why they are at Jacksonville's Hyatt Regency that makes for more meaningful conversations.
"Grief is a lifelong journey. I will remember and honor my husband for the rest of my life," said Bonnie Carroll.
She lost her husband Tom in an Army plane crash in 1992. Back then, there was no national support network for the families of America's fallen heroes.
So, she founded The Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors or TAPS. "It isn't about the death. It's about the life lived in service to this country and what these families have sacrificed for America is what we honor here this weekend," she told First Coast News.
It's a support network that offers coping for grief and loss, even for children and teens as well as suicide prevention and 'postvention.'
TAPS chose Jacksonville for the survivor seminar because of its large military community. Many families lost their loved one to cancer or other health related issues, in combat or by suicide.
"It's always going to be a process of missing my son," said Terri Jones.
Her son, Jason Cooper, took his life in 2005. "It's just been really amazing to be able to connect with other moms and other parents that have also went through such a traumatic loss," she said.
The gathering is even more poignant, Carroll says, with the unrest in Ukraine, which started its own form of TAPS a few years ago.
Carroll has been to the country and says so many are suffering loss. "Been on the phone all day and communicating with our families there. They are standing strong. They are grateful to have the support of America and we just say our prayers for them."
For more information about TAPS, including this weekend's events in Jacksonville, click here.