BOSTON (WHDH) - Sgt. First Class Eric Emond co-founded Massachusetts Fallen Heroes in 2010, an organization that helps Gold Star families. He never thought that one day his own family would need their support.
Just five months ago, the 39-year-old green beret was killed by a roadside bomb in Ghazni Province, Afghanistan, leaving behind his wife, Allie, and their three young daughters.
Since then, the family has been receiving support from the Massachusetts Fallen Heroes organization.
Looking to pay the foundation’s generosity forward, Allie is preparing to run in her first Boston in their honor.
“This has always been a dream of mine,” she said. “And the reason I am running this year is a nightmare.”
Through tears, Allie remembered the kind of man Eric was.
“He just brought, life and humor and light to every place he went,” she said.
Dan McGoon, with Emond, created the Fallen Heros charity with the idea of helping families in need.
McGoon said he and his fellow veterans knew they had to do more to support the loved ones of those killed in action
Now, as one of those Gold Star families her husband sought to support, Allie says she wants to help others going through the same thing she is.
“Losing a family member isn’t temporary,” Emond said. “It is not something you get over. It’s not something you move past. It is something that hurts every day. Seeing your kids grow up without their dad.”
Her running team is made up of veterans, family members, and even strangers all looking for ways to give what they can.
“He wanted to make sure that his family was taken care of and in a horribly ironic way he is still taking care of us,” she said.
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