Magical weekend ends on ice

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Jeremy Larlee
  • Air Force Print News
LOS ANGELES (AFPN) --  Gary Komppa watched the National Hockey League action on the ice, and for a short time the pain of his loss melted away.

The 11-year-old has not had much to smile about the last few months. He is now the man of the house after his father, Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Charles Komppa, died Oct. 25 while in a convoy in the Al Anbar province of Iraq.

Gary was able to spend the weekend being a child again and even getting to watch his first hockey game, a match between the Anaheim Ducks and Calgary Flames Dec. 18. The game was the final activity of the four-day Snowball Express event, which was open to all military families who lost someone in the war on terrorism.

Activities included a holiday show, a party at Oakley headquarters, a shopping spree with donated gift cards, a trip to Disneyland and ended with the NHL hockey match.

"This is the first time I have been to a hockey game so I'm pretty excited," he said. "It is a good way to end a weekend that has been pretty awesome the whole time."

Gary's mother, Delisa Komppa, said the timing of the event could not be any better. With everything that had happened in the last few months she had not found time to do any holiday shopping.

"This has really provided a great Christmas for us," she said. "It really warms my heart to know these people cared so much to do all of this."

She said she also found comfort in talking to the other families. They were able to give her a lot of good advice because they have been dealing with their losses for a longer amount of time.

"It is nice to know that you are not alone," she said. "Everybody has been so nice and I feel so much stronger about going forward."

Maria James has had a little bit more time to process the death of her father Lt. Col. Leon James, who died Oct. 10, 2005 at Walter Reed Army Medical Center from injuries he sustained in Iraq.

She said she was enjoying the hockey game too.

"I love hockey, you can't get anything better than guys on skates hitting each other," she said.

"Disneyland was a lot of fun and the lines weren't bad at all," she said. "It makes it hard to think of anything bad when you are in there."

She was also able to make a lot of new friends over the weekend. People she wouldn't mind seeing again.

"It would be great to see the other families again, because this has been a perfect weekend," she said.

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