TAPS Magazine: A source of inspiration, comfort, support and resources
Author: TAPS
Each Friday, please visit our blog and join us as we take a look back at stories, people and events that have shaped who we are today. We are a family of survivors honoring our selfless heroes who paid the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom. We are grieving parents, spouses, children, siblings, grandparents, fiancées, battle buddies and loved ones. We are hope. We are strength. We are TAPS.
Our quarterly publication, TAPS Magazine, is an important way we stay close to our TAPS families. As the seasons turn, survivors, service members, supporters and grief professionals count on another edition arriving in the mail, and we love hearing how meaningful the content is to them.
When TAPS started in 1994, our quarterly communication came out as a black-and-white newsletter for our survivors and supporters. It wasn’t until Spring 2002 when we celebrated the publication of the inaugural issue of TAPS Magazine in the full-color, glossy format we enjoy today.
Ellen Andrews, left, and Robin Potter.
For this installation of Flashback Friday, we thought you might enjoy seeing the cover of our first TAPS Magazine, featuring a photo of survivors Ellen Andrews, left, and Robin Potter. This photo was taken in Arlington National Cemetery on Memorial Day. Today, Ellen is the TAPS Senior Advisor for Survivor Services and also a contributing editor at TAPS Magazine.
Remembering that first magazine cover, Ellen shared, “Robin and I became acquainted at a TAPS National Seminar and have been friends ever since. We always looked forward to reconnecting each year at the seminar and truly enjoyed each other’s company.”
This is a story we often hear at TAPS. Friendships created and nurtured at events become life-long relationships born out of grief. This image of Ellen and Robin captures the hope and healing that many in our survivor family find at TAPS National Military Survivor Seminar and at all our other events as well.
“Our initial connection started due to our loss, but our friendship grew beyond the loss. We enjoyed time together and celebrated each other’s lives,” Ellen said. “We had the comfort of knowing we had a circle of friends that had survived a life-altering event, were strong, resilient and hopeful for the future.”
Then and Now
Then: black-and-white newsletters.
Now: full-color, glossy format magazines.
Share Your Story
We welcome your stories that we know can bring hope and healing to our TAPS families. If you would like to share a Flashback Friday story, we would love to hear from you. Email media@taps.org.
Subscribe
TAPS Magazine is dedicated to America’s fallen heroes and their surviving families and friends. If you would like to subscribe to the quarterly publication, complete the sign up form. Electronic copies of past issues are also available. The magazine is free, and available to anyone who is interested in receiving it, including survivors, service members, supporters and grief professionals.
Photos: Pablo Piedra