FILE - In this May, 3, 2019, file photo, U.S. Sen. Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., speaks at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery, Maine. The federal government has decided to delay changing the way it determines funding for rural education after a bipartisan group of lawmakers, led by Hassan and U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, said the move would hurt hundreds of schools. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty, File)

WASHINGTON – U.S. Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-NH) held a Facebook Live conversation today with Gold Star mother Natalie Healy of Exeter on the importance of honoring those who served in the Global War on Terror. In 2005, Natalie’s son, Navy Seal Daniel Healy, was killed in Afghanistan after his helicopter was shot down during an attempt to rescue a SEAL reconnaissance team.

Senator Hassan and Healy discussed the need for a Global War on Terrorism Memorial on the National Mall in Washington, DC. Senator Hassan introduced a bipartisan bill on the 19th anniversary of 9/11 with Senator Joni Ernst (R-IA) earlier this year that would authorize the construction of it on the National Mall.

“I’ve got a bill in with Senator Ernst to make sure [the Global War on Terrorism Memorial] is located on an appropriate place in the nation’s capital so that all Americans will have the opportunity to see the memorial and to take a moment to think about the people who have given the ultimate sacrifice to keep us safe from terrorism,” Senator Hassan said. “And to make sure that we continue to do everything we can as Americans to unite and confront terrorism wherever we see it because it is such a threat not only to our country, but to freedom everywhere around the globe.”

“The main concern of a lot of families is that their sons or daughters [will] be forgotten,” said Natalie Healy. “[The Global War on Terrorism Memorial] would make a huge difference to so many people. It’s one thing to lose your child and then you don’t really hear much about it, but then to see that they’re in the nation’s capital…in thirty, forty years a child can go and see your son’s name. They may not know anything about that person, but they see the name and they know that person sacrificed so they could live free.”

Earlier this year, Senator Hassan held a Facebook Live conversation with NH Gold Star sister Steph Ouellette, whose brother died while serving in Afghanistan, about her efforts to build the Gold Star Memorial at the New Hampshire State Veterans Cemetery. You can view the video of their conversation here. Ouellette also recently wrote an op-ed that ran on Veterans Day calling for a Global War on Terrorism Memorial.

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