Helping a military child

“Mom” as some soldiers call her, has always helped military families in need.

Stacy Morton, president of Friends of the 133rd, a nonprofit organization that helps military families, has raised funds and helped countless people.

When Cpt.Bruce Hays died in combat and the $17,000 he paid a mechanic for restoring his 1959 Apache truck disappeared, Stacy helped fund the unfinished restoration project. When soldiers could not afford to buy Christmas presents for their children, she was there to help.

Stacy said she didn’t always personally know the people she was helping. She did it simply because “it was the right thing to do,” she said.

Stacy said she will be more personally involved with her next project.

Stacy and her nonprofit group will host a dinner and auction, plus raffles April 20 at the Civic Center in Laramie. Tickets for dinner are $25, but the auction is open to anyone.

The proceeds of the event will help fund summer camp for children who have at least one parent deploying this year.

“It’s free of charge to the family, and the child still gets to have fun for the summer,” Morton said. “Hopefully it takes their mind off the distractions with the parent being gone.”

Morton’s husband, Charlie, is one of about 200 troops and volunteers from Wyoming deploying to Bahrain, an island off the coast of Saudi Arabia. Charlie, along with other soldiers, will be gone for one year. The absence of one parent can have an effect on young children, Morton said.

“I never did stop to think about what the kids go through,” Morton said. “That’s what sparked my interest in this specific project.

Stacy’s oldest son, Chase Siefert, 13, will be especially impacted by his stepfather’s absence.

Chase collected several memories of his stepfather. He remembers past vacations, playing baseball and going hunting with his stepfather, Chase said.

But the memory Chase seems to cherish most is when he gave his father a volleyball.

When Chase heard Charlie was deploying, Chase gave him a volleyball. Chase wanted Charlie to remember him and be able to use it during his spare time, Chase said.

In return, Charlie gave Chase baseball gloves.

Chase ran to his room grabbed the gloves and held them up.

“He gave them to me to remind me of him,” Chase said.

Chase also aims to be like Charlie.

Charlie works for the BLM and has been in the Army National Guard for several years. Charlie wants to do both of those things, he said.

“I want to support the country and do what my dad has been doing,” Chase said. “It’s going to be a hard time without him.”

In Charlie’s absence, Stacy said she is somewhat worried about her two-year-old son and 11-month-old daughter.

“I have a 2-year-old that loves and adores his father that doesn’t have any clue of what’s going on,” Stacy said.

Stacy has heard stories of children not knowing their own fathers after long deployments, but thanks to the internet and developing technology, the Morton family can stay connected, even when Charlie is overseas.

“We know there are going to be some obstacles, but fortunately for us we have Skype,” Stacy said.

The family plans to interact mostly with Skype or other online communication tools when Charlie has spare time, but that isn’t the only way Stacy and her children can spend time with Charlie.

The whole Morton family plays World of Warcraft, an online computer game. Charlie will be able to play the game with his children and stepchildren while he is in Bahrain.

“We are trying to set it up so it’s as easy as possible, so we can have the most contact and actually spend time with him,” Stacy said.

Stacy’s camp project can also help, she said. Children who benefit from her camp project can choose any summer activity. However, the military offers some camps that help parents and children alike cope while a loved one is deployed, Stacy said.

Emotionally, the hardest part of watching a loved one deploy is knowing there is a possibility they may not come back, Stacy said.

“I am very aware of the danger,” she said. But she doesn’t let emotions get in the way of her possibility. “My husband taught me a long time ago you hope for the best and prepare for the worst.”

Stacy has prepared for the worst.

“We have had the talk,” she said. “I know what he expects of me. I know what he expects me to do with the children” as far as raising them goes, she said.

However, nobody can be emotionally prepared to lose a loved one in action, Stacy said. The Morton family remains very hopeful Morton will be OK during his deployment.

“It kind of worries me, but besides that I know he is going to be fine there,” Chase said.

For Stacy’s camp project to be fully funded, she needs more auction items, she said.

Stacy has been in contact with several entities to find items, but still needs more.

Although Stacy is personally attached to her camp project, she is doing it for selfless reasons, she said.

“I respect the families that go through that, and nobody stands up for them, so I was willing to,” Stacy said.