(WTNH) — A humble man who is an American war hero. Jason Burke was in the Navy for 26 years. He was a pilot who flew many high-risk operations and reconnaissance missions of Bosnia and Iraq.
Burke served alongside all branches of the military in Afghanistan where he lost two men he served with. He knows the pain of notifying loved ones; parents, spouses and children.
Now, Burke, along with Maria Phillips of Hamden, have formed a non-profit organization called “Kids of America’s Heroes.” The mission is to help the children whose parents serve in the Reservists and the National Guard who have been deployed over and over and over again. With his organization, he wants to make sure the kid’s schools and communities understand what they are dealing with.
“We found out that there were no organizations that advocated or educated communities, schools on what the culture of military life is and how it affects school-aged children,” said Burke. “Even though they haven’t been deployed, they’ve been dealing with anticipatory grief is my Mom is my Dad coming home, are they going to get killed, I didn’t hear from them this week, what happened? So they’re dealing with that and it has a psychological, neuro-psychological effect.”
Burke says there are 2 million children across the country who are living in the shadow of war. You can help Burke and his team by visiting their website.
