The families of two soldiers killed this weekend will not be receiving bereavement pay from the government, but one non-profit organization is stepping up help them in their darkest hour.
Two Apache helicopter pilots, First Lt Clayton Cullen and Chief Warrant Officer Kevin Burke, were killed on Saturday at Fort Irwin, California. Their families are entitled to $100,000 death pay, as well as funeral and travel expenses. These payments have stopped since the government shutdown on Friday when Democrats refused to vote for a GOP bill funding the government.
Twitter/Elizabeth McLaughlin
Twitter/Elizabeth McLaughlin
The shutdown has frozen all military benefits and pay for active duty military.
However, the Fisher House Foundation has promised to make the $100,000 payments to bereaved families in the event of a government shutdown. The foundation has also pledged to help pay for funerals and travel for military families to receive their loved ones. The Foundation is well known for building a national network of homes where military families can stay for free while military members receive medical care on a military base or VA medical center.
During the 2013 shutdown, Fisher House provided similar payments to families, which the government eventually reimbursed.