Cared for From the Very First Moment

Lyndsay Smith, surviving fiancée of PVT Robert Blankenberg, Jr., shares her experience of finding TAPS a month after Rob's death, which occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic. Lyndsay sought someone who could truly see her loss, and TAPS provided this care by recognizing her not "just" as a fiancée, but as "his person," validating her grief without needing explanation or justification. This acceptance marked the beginning of her healing journey.

A little over a month after Rob died, I found TAPS.

I didn't even know what I was looking for. I just knew I needed someone who could see my loss for what it was — because the world around me made that very hard.

Losing Rob during COVID meant there was no normal wake, no funeral home full of people who loved him. Everything felt muted, compressed, wrong. And still, every day, I put on my scrubs and showed up. I was a nurse in the middle of a global health crisis — caring for patients, comforting families, holding space for other people's worst moments while quietly carrying my own devastation behind my mask.

From the very first interaction, TAPS did something extraordinary: They saw me. Not as "just" a fiancée. As his person.

While I was caring for others through their worst days, TAPS became the place where someone cared for me. I didn't have to explain the depth of my love or justify my grief. It was simply accepted.

That acceptance was the beginning of everything.

Pass It On

If you’re inspired by Lyndsay’s story and looking for a way to support TAPS while you support fellow survivors and honor your hero, learn how you can fundraise for TAPS.

PHOTO: Lyndsay Smith and her Fiancé PVT Robert Blankenberg, Jr.