United Through Reading is a program that allows military parents to read bedtime stories to their children, who may be thousands of miles away. | Annie Spratt / Unsplash
United Through Reading is a program that allows military parents to read bedtime stories to their children, who may be thousands of miles away. | Annie Spratt / Unsplash
During this year’s Month of the Military Child, which ran through April, the children of many families in military towns had tough times as deployments picked up along with the ongoing war in Ukraine.
A nonprofit group is looking to keep military families connected, even when one member is far away. The Operation Hero program, near Fort Bragg, teaches military children coping skills so they can better deal with a parent being deployed and the emotions that accompany the struggle.
"The hardest thing for deployment when it comes to my kids is the day-to-day,” Jill Saslav, the wife of a soldier, told ABC 11 News. "They are so used to their dad being there, and I think nighttime is the hardest time, especially when they look over across the table and they see an empty chair.”
It’s especially hard when the duration of the deployment is up in the air, giving those left behind no return date to count down to.
Operation Hero isn’t the only support program. United Through Reading has helped soothe the lonesome times for decades. The objective is to have soldiers record themselves reading their children's favorite bedtime stories. That gives the children an auditory connection with the parent who is thousands of miles away.
"It relieves the stress at home because it helps the child watch mommy and daddy whenever they need to watch mommy and daddy,” Dr. Sally Zoll, CEO of United Through Reading, told ABC 11 News. "It helps the service member who is separated, even if they aren't at home, and the parent or caretaker because they also feel supported by their spouse who is deployed.”
To date, United Through Reading has helped more than 2.5 million military families through its 200 locations worldwide.
Saslav has regularly taken advantage of the program, which has a chapter near Fort Bragg, and she encourages other families to give it a try.
"You still didn't miss that connection that night — the last person that child saw that night was their dad or their mom," Saslav said. "To say good night, what you would do normally if they were home.”
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