TAPS

A special seminar at Fort Bragg this weekend offered help to those suffering after losing a family member to war. It’s part of the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors.

For Teresa Priestner and her two daughters, coping after the loss of husband and father John has been difficult. It’s been almost a year since he died at war.

"I had somebody ask me once what it was like to lose your spouse,” said Priestner. “They said ‘well, was it like losing a limb?’ I go ‘no, you can live with you limbs gone. You can. But it's like losing your breath. You can't live without your breath. And that's what it feels like losing John.’"

The Priestner family came to the TAPS event this weekend. It’s designed to offer support to families, offering seminars, peer groups and other types of support.

“TAPS is a lifeline for families who have suffered loss,” said founder Bonnie Carroll. “This is a place they can call 24 hours a day, seven days a week and know that at the other end of the phone they'll be talking with someone else who not only understands from the head, but feels from the heart, what they're experiencing."

TAPS also offers the Good Grief Camp for young survivors, and Sunday, the kids released balloons into the sky with messages to their lost loved ones.