after his Hummer was hit by an improvised explosive device. He survived and made it to the 86th Combat Support Hospital where he succumbed to his injuries after surgery. In between working as a nurse at Fishkill and Greenhaven Correctional Facilities, Zwillinger founded a group called Semper Fi Parents of the Hudson Valley after the Marine Corp’s Latin slogan, “Always Faithful.” The group was launched when her son was in boot camp and the only support she found was on Internet message boards.
“On these message boards, you talk to parents nationwide. Everyone is going through the same emotions. Everyone is living with the same fears. Everyone is asking the same questions,” Zwillinger said.
The need for support was so strong, Zwillinger compiled a booklet for parents and took it to her local recruiter. It was approved by the U.S. Marine Corp Command in Albany and is now being utilized in two-thirds of the state.
The next step for Zwillinger was to contact a local newspaper to run a story about the need for parents to unite.
“That’s how the group Semper Fi Parents was born,” she said. “I had everyone calling me after the story ran. Initially, Semper Fi Parents was for parents of Marines, but there were moms with kids in the Army. At that time, the U.S. involvement was hot and heavy in Iraq. Just because their kid wore a different uniform, it didn’t matter. They were going through the same emotions. Semper Fi Parents grew and grew, and now we have 130 members representing all branches of service.”
Fighting for a law
Another mission on Zwillinger’s list is to get a law passed preventing a sole surviving son or daughter from being deployed into a war zone.
“A law should be passed to protect families from losing their last child. It wouldn’t have to say the child can’t enter the service, just not be deployed into a war zone. I’m trying to push congressmen,
senators and President Obama into recognizing that families who lost children have sacrificed enough.
“I’ve written letters to the U.S. Armed Forces Committee and to key people in the U.S. Senate. The response has been, ‘You are not my constituent, so I can’t help you.’ A lot of times you could tell a staffer answered the letter. So I start the process all over again,” Zwillinger said.
She also wants to see stronger legislation to protect the veterans who return from combat with a physical disability or who suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
“The GI Bill is terrific if a returning soldier decides to go to school. However, the ones returning with PTSD or a traumatic brain injury are a generation of soldiers who might end up bankrupt. They are not making ends meet,” Zwillinger said.
Sending a message
Zwillinger sends a message every way she can to help the Marines and soldiers. She has been a part of three TV documentaries produced by HBO.
Her involvement with the cable network station began when it was filming “Baghdad ER.”
“One of the directors called me and said,
‘We were there when your son came through the hospital doors. We actually have your son on footage. It will put you at his bedside.’ ”
Since then, she had a role in HBO’s documentaries “Alive Day Memories” and “Arlington Section 60.”
She also coordinates an ongoing drive to send care packages overseas called Operation Santa.
“I would like to see employees at every correctional facility in the state become involved. Most of the staff come from a military background. Many of the returning vets will enter an occupation linked with corrections. It just makes sense. No matter what your opinion is of the war, it’s important we all support the warriors.”
For more information, visit www.semperfiparentshv.org.
