Fort Worth residents Terry and Beth Burgess have a personal connection to the war on terror.
Their son, Army Staff Sgt. Bryan Burgess, was ambushed and killed in the Kunar province, Afghanistan, on March 29, 2011.
The couple are working to keep Bryan’s legacy alive through the Global War on Terrorism Memorial Foundation. The Burgesses are part of a committee choosing the design of a monument to honor those impacted by America’s longest war to be placed on the National Mall .
The couple want to share the true meaning of the memorial, they said.
“Everybody knows somebody that was involved one way or another,” Terry said.
Michael Rodríguez, CEO and president of the foundation, wanted to capture the voice of those who served and determine how to best honor them through the monument.
“Art is the purest form of communication,” Rodríguez said. “It has the ability to connect people, to heal, to share emotions, thoughts, feelings and create communities.”
Choosing the design committee was hard on Rodríguez. He wanted to gather people who could represent the Americans who stepped forward to serve our nation, he said.
That’s when he found the Burgesses.
After the death of their son, the Burgesses searched for ways to stay connected to him. They found it through stories.
“Beth and I started looking for help for parents of fallen soldiers (while) trying to pull me out of my depression,” Terry said. “We found other Gold Star parents — other parents of fallen soldiers — and we asked them if they’d be interested in sharing and talking.”
Thus, the Gold Star Parent’s Retreat was born.
The retreat invites Gold Star families to give testimonials and connect with other families who share the same pain.
“We all have the same tragic beginning,” Terry said. “But every soldier, every hero, every family and every story is different.”
Rodríguez has supported the Burgess family and their passion project. He has invited service members, families and veterans to share their stories with him, Terry said.
After finding the Burgess family and hearing their story, Rodríguez invited them to join the monument design committee.
“I saw them just trying to be good citizens,” said Rodríguez. “They are choosing to empower the community, I wanted to be sure that we were able to capture their voice.”
Before Rodríguez turns the design over to the committee, he wants to further understand the voice that it would capture, he said.
Rodríguez, along with other members of the foundation, built a survey. He wanted each veteran group and all 50 states represented in the response, he said.
Three months and around 20,000 responses later, they found the voice they’d sought.
“We’ve captured all the voices in any demographic you could come up with,” Rodríguez said. “The voice of America, and especially those that serve, will mold this design.”
Ryan Thorpe is an audience engagement fellow at the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at ryan.thorpe@fortworthreport.org. At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here.
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