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Bill And Christine Koch's `` All American Family '

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Bill and Christine Koch, along with their 3 children Lynn, Steven, and William Jr., were described as the ‘All American Family’. CPL Steven Koch enlisted in the Army, married the love of his life, Amy and had a daughter they named Zoe. CPL Koch called his mom, nearing the end of a 15-month deployment to Afghanistan. He said, “Momma, I don’t know how much longer my luck is going to hold out.” (Thompson & Yarborough, 2013). Three weeks before CPL Koch was scheduled to return home, Christine Koch answered the door to two Soldiers, informing her that her son was killed by a suicide bomber. CPL Koch’s death was especially hard on his sister, Lynn. Christine received an e-mail from Lynn stating, “Mommy, I finally realize that Steven’s …show more content…

However, there is a profound need for further research on Military bereavement. To date, there is little to no research explaining how a Soldiers’ death affects family members. There is one researcher, however, who is passionate about this topic. Dr. Steven Cozza, professor of psychiatry at the Center for the Study of Traumatic Stress, has initiated the largest congressionally funded study, the National Military Family Bereavement Study. He states, “If certain groups are particularly resilient, we want to understand what can lead to resilience and how could programs better support health in the community after a death.” (Thompson & Yarborough, 2013). His goal is to gage how the family is affected and what help is needed when it comes to the death of their loved one. Dr. Cozza and his team are working with universities and organizations to support the study, provide guidance, develop questionnaires, provide survivor support and outreach, and community engagement (Uniformed Services University, 2016). Eligible participants include parents, step-parents, adoptive parents, legal guardians, siblings, spouses and ex-spouses, children whose life has been impacted by the death of a United States Military service member, on or after September 11, 2001.
The Last Salute At the core of every Soldier or Veteran is a family that is influenced by their service. Nowhere is more evident of this service and sacrifice, than

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