Lajes members pay it forward

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Chyrece Campbell
  • 65th Air Base Wing Public Affairs
LAJES FIELD, Portugal --  Imagine standing in a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit and watching your 3-month-old baby boy take his last breath. Not only are you now mourning the loss of your child, but you're faced with covering the cost of $7,000 in funeral arrangements.

Unfortunately, this was a reality for Master Sgts. Jason and Lana Miller in August 1994. At the time, they were both airman first class newlyweds with a combined salary of about $1,800 a month before taxes. They were faced with having to pick out a coffin suitable enough to rest their first born; with a selection ranging from $3,000 and up, their spirits diminished even more.

Jason Miller had to gather what strength he had left to figure out a way to provide for his family.

"My supervisor and first sergeant told me about going to the Air Force Aid Fund to get a low-interest loan," said Jason. "So I went."

Jason went to talk to the AFAF representative at the Family Support Center. He explained his situation to the representative and brought in bills and income statements.

"I remember bringing in the funeral estimate after Lana and I had agreed on all the arrangements, and the AFAF rep cut me a check to cover that amount, and told me it was a grant," said Jason.

A grant? The Millers were not expecting a grant. They thought it was going to be a no-interest loan at best.

"I don't know what we would have done if it wasn't for that money," Lana Miller said. "It was enough dealing with the death of my baby, Christian, and all the medical bills--the AFAF grant was a blessing," she said.

Within those four months, their new lives as expecting newlyweds without any financial discrepancies, became debt-laden, with the loss of a child. It was a hard time for the Millers, but their Air Force family helped them through it.

Every year since, the Millers have given to the AFAF, and tell others to support the cause as well. Despite their support to AFAF, it wasn't until a few weeks ago that Lana decided to give details of how AFAF helped her specifically.

"I support the cause every year," said Lana, "yet I still have my moments where it's hard to tell the details of how they helped me."

"When my wife called me and said she'd agreed to tell our story, I was so proud of her for being strong," said Jason.

AFAF helped the Millers in a way that has prodded them to "pay it forward", in other words, to give back to the charity that helped them during a tragic time in their lives.

Even though Christian was born 13 weeks premature, and never got to come home to his crib, AFAF aided in giving him a place to rest his head, and his parents some solace when they had nowhere else to turn.