Retired colonel provides air support for Snowball Express

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Jeremy Larlee
  • Air Force Print News
LOS ANGELES (AFPN) --  Retired Lt. Col. Roy White picked up the phone and on the other end was an opportunity to contribute to the military again.

The phone call was from Michael Kerr, the founder of Snowball Express, and he wanted to get every military family who had a lost a loved one in the war on terror to California for a magical weekend. To make that possible he needed a lot of airplane tickets. Colonel White, now a captain with Southwest Airlines, was in a position to help.

The colonel said he found gathering support for the event was not a very difficult task. His company has many retired military people and they were eager to help the families of fallen heroes. He said he misses the military and was glad to do his part.

"It feels good to be helping military families," he said. "When you go into the civilian world, there are some opportunities for interaction, but a lot of the time you drift away very quickly. To get back connected in this way is very heart warming."

The Snowball Express, taking place Dec. 15-18, was made possible by contributions from numerous local and national groups. A party took place Dec. 16 at the Oakley National Headquarters.

Families were given a heroes welcome as they arrived at the party. More than a 100 local residents waved banners and cheered loudly. The party had catered food, a children's zone with a bouncy castle, daycare and demonstrations by professional skate boarders and BMX riders. Celebrities Arnold Schwarzenegger and Tony Hawk also visited the event to show their support.

Heidi Sims attended the party with her 2-year-old son Colin. Her husband, Army Capt. Sean Sims, died from insurgent gunfire in 2004 at Fallujah, Iraq. She said she was glad to see other families and deeply touched by the kindness of everyone who made the event possible.

"It's amazing that so many of us were able to attend," she said. "It's really nice to see that people who don't know us put their heart and soul into such a nice event."

Heidi Sims was also very excited to meet some other widows in person. She had communicated with many of them through support groups set up by the Army. She said it was great to see their children play together and relax for a weekend.

"Taking time away from our daily routines, letting our hair down and watching the kids have a great time has been great for us," she said. "We all have something in common, and it makes it easy to communicate."

Koji Kraft, a member of the Oakley Bike Team, performed BMX tricks during the party. He was eager to participate because he has a brother in the military that has deployed to Iraq.

"It makes me feel good to be out here," he said. "This is a great way to honor my brother, and hopefully I can bring joy to the children if even for just a short amount of time."

Colonel White said that the party showed the strength of a group, over that of an individual, and what can be accomplished by patriotic citizens.

"There is an appreciation that is outpouring from the American public that is best illustrated by today's event," he said. "It shows that they respect what those families are going through and want to help."

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