New England Patriots Salute to Service Weekend with TAPS

TAPS is excited to be partnering with the New England Patriots for a unique opportunity to honor and recognize fallen service men and women and the families they left behind. The New England Patriots will host TAPS Families for a Salute to Service Weekend, November 23 to 24, 2019, and honor 25 Fallen Heroes to mark the 25^th Anniversary of TAPS, founded in 1994, during their Salute to Service game on November 24, 2019. 

Event Overview

Players from the New England Patriots will wear the initials of a Fallen Hero on their helmets during their Salute to Service Game on Sunday, November 24, and the families of the fallen will be recognized during the weekend. This program will pay tribute to the men and women who died while serving in the U.S. Armed Forces, or who died from injuries sustained while serving, in the post 9/11 era.

The Patriots will also host families for a special event on Saturday, November 23 at Gillette Stadium. TAPS Families will also be presented with a special gift from the team.

Entry Form Details

This online entry request form (look for the blue button at the top of this page) will open at 12:01 a.m. Eastern on Wednesday, October 2, 2019, and will close when 100 forms have been received OR at 11:59 PM Eastern on Monday, October 7, 2019, whichever comes first.

Please Note:

• If there are more than 25 families interested in the program, there will be a random selection process, which means that some will not be selected. 
• For the selected families, a maximum of four (4) members from each fallen hero's family will participate in the honor and recognition events during the Salute to Service Weekend. If your family does participate in the event, all registered family representatives must be available all day on November 23 and November 24, 2019, and must attend all scheduled events. 
• For the 25 selected families, the New England Patriots will provide each family with up to 4 tickets to the game, an invitation to a special event on Saturday, November 23 and a special gift from the team.
• Any survivor under the age of 18 must be accompanied by a parent/guardian or a surviving adult family member with permission from their parent/guardian. All participants must be 6 years of age or older.
• At this time, this opportunity is not available to those families whose Fallen Heroes were previously honored at the 2018 New England Patriots Salute to Service Weekend event with TAPS. A lower priority will be given to those families who have participated in Salute to Service weekends with other teams via TAPS.
• If your family does participate in the event, you will need to provide a high resolution photo and bio of your loved one, as well as a family bio for those attending. This information will be shared with media and Patriots fans to educate them on our Fallen Heroes and this military recognition program.
• While this event is open to TAPS families nationwide, all transportation and travel for this Salute to Service opportunity will be the responsibility of the attending family.

If you have any questions, please email teams4taps@taps.org.

We are grateful to our friends at the New England Patriots for this occasion to honor and recognize our loved ones.