December 12, 2011 we got up to get the kids off to school. Frank was flying nights that week so he was home that morning. We got Zoe out to the bus, hung around with the boys , they watched the obnoxious Kia Hamster Party Rock commercial about 5 times, we danced around in the kitchen, laughed... normal "us" stuff. I had errands to run and he came with me so I wouldn't have to drag the toddlers out of the van every time. Came home, put the littles down for their nap and spent some nice time together before he headed out to work at 11:30. He kissed me goodbye, said "I love ya, see ya tonight" and got in his truck and drove off happy. He called me a few minutes later and said "Hey, would you close the garage door? I love you!".I went on with my day, Hunter had a doctor appointment that afternoon... our last one for a month. It was a cold day, but after we got back from the hospital I put the littles in the stroller and we were standing in our driveway when a Kiowa flew over the house low and slow. I knew it was him, I took a video of Liam yelling. We loved seeing Daddy fly over the house. Now that I think about it... that was the last glimpse we got of him. Flying out over Puget Sound... doing what he loved.
I got the big kids home from the bus stop and did our normal evening stuff. After the kids went to bed I was cleaning up my office and putzing around on the computer. I was waiting up for him, figured he'd be home around midnight. By 12:30 I decided to go to bed. I heated up the rice bags to warm up his side of the bed ( He came home like a block of ice after flying at night up here), I did that so he wouldn't put his cold feet on ME when he slipped into the bed. He loved that I did that for him.
I rolled over and fell asleep and woke up with a start at 2:40 and immediately felt something was wrong. He should have been home by then. I sent a text at 2:43 "Babe,where are you?" Didn't get a response. Got out of bed, looked out the window to check for his truck, paced a few minutes. Got back in bed, trying to shake it off. But I felt seriously off. I texted him "Worried here-are you okay?" I laid down but my head was What If-ing already.
A few minutes later the doorbell rang. I know I freaked out but I also thought " Oh crap,he's home and I left the chain on the door!". The dog bolted down the stairs, I started walking down the stairs and got midway down and could see through the glass door. I could see guys in uniforms standing on my doorstep. My knees kind of buckled and I started shaking really bad. I walked slowly the rest of the way at one point thinking " Maybe they're cops, maybe he had a car accident". But I opened the door and two Army uniformed men were there. And I knew, but I didn't knew. I can't remember exactly what they said.They asked if they could come in and I ( must have been in shock) said " If I let two men in this house at 3am Frank's gonna kick my ass." The chaplain shook his head and said ' No, ma'am, he's not." And that's when I realized what they were there for. I asked them " Oh God, who was with him???" They couldn't tell me. I don't remember at what point I found out later that it was 3 others that died as well. I let them in and remember that slow walk to the living room and just shaking so bad and being so cold. I sat on the couch and just kept saying "I don't believe this." The guys were so nice, they were upset too, one of them read the official statement. something to the effect of " I regret to inform you that while flying a training mission last night on Dec 12 your husband CW3 Frank Buonicont ( except he pronounced it like picante) was killed ". Murder my heart. I'm sitting here typing this 19 days later and I still can't believe it. I went into complete shock. They asked if I wanted to call anyone and I had to go upstairs to get my phone. I called our friends Bobby & Melody who live down the street, Bobby is a pilot in Frank's troop too. I called Frank's brother so he could go tell their parents. I called our good friend Lori, who is also a pilot up here.
I don't remember much about that morning. Bobby,Melody and Lori got here pretty quickly, we decided to let the kids go to school without telling them. We had to to hold it together. It broke my heart putting Ronin on that school bus knowing that when he got home I was going to tell him the worst news ever. I know I spent the day just in shock. But we laughed, we cried, we laughed some more, we cried some more. I had to call about a million people and deliver the news. Every time I said it I still didn't believe it. About mid afternoon I finally just laid down on the bathroom floor and sobbed until I couldn't anymore. As the hours rolled by and it was time for kids to start getting home I just wanted the world to end. The thought of telling my poor sweet kids that their Daddy wasn't ever coming home again..... I still can't believe I had to do it.
But I did. I took Zoe for a short walk as soon as she got off the bus. It was awful. I took Ronin up to his room and told him. It was awful, he's 6 and he's our sensitive one. He just cried and cried so loudly. The other grownups in the house went outside, it was too much to listen to. I just sat and held him and cried too. Later I quietly told Liam that Daddy's helicopter crashed and that he was in Heaven now and wouldn't be coming home. I laid on head on my bed and started crying and he reached his little hand out and said "Don't cry Mommy, Daddy be home tomorrow!". I half wished they were all tiny and wouldn't understand, but on the other hand I know that at 3 years old Liam won't remember much later on. And that breaks my heart.
The day ended somehow, I don't remember. People were already flying in, family, friends from back East. Thank God for all of them surrounding us. I put the kids to bed, prayed and cried with them.
I am thankful for the weekend we had together as a family before he died. On Sunday we went and chopped down our Christmas tree. Frank made spaghetti and meatballs for us, Lori and Melody & Bobby and their 3 kids. I have no regrets about our time spent, I know he was happy when he left this earth. He died doing what he loved and he died leaving people feeling loved and blessed.
Saturday, December 31, 2011
The Day The World Changed.
On the evening of December 12, 2011, my husband CW3 Frank Buoniconti and 3 other pilots were killed when their Kiowa helicopters collided during a training flight on Fort Lewis WA.
December 12, 2011 we got up to get the kids off to school. Frank was flying nights that week so he was home that morning. We got Zoe out to the bus, hung around with the boys , they watched the obnoxious Kia Hamster Party Rock commercial about 5 times, we danced around in the kitchen, laughed... normal "us" stuff. I had errands to run and he came with me so I wouldn't have to drag the toddlers out of the van every time. Came home, put the littles down for their nap and spent some nice time together before he headed out to work at 11:30. He kissed me goodbye, said "I love ya, see ya tonight" and got in his truck and drove off happy. He called me a few minutes later and said "Hey, would you close the garage door? I love you!".I went on with my day, Hunter had a doctor appointment that afternoon... our last one for a month. It was a cold day, but after we got back from the hospital I put the littles in the stroller and we were standing in our driveway when a Kiowa flew over the house low and slow. I knew it was him, I took a video of Liam yelling. We loved seeing Daddy fly over the house. Now that I think about it... that was the last glimpse we got of him. Flying out over Puget Sound... doing what he loved.
I got the big kids home from the bus stop and did our normal evening stuff. After the kids went to bed I was cleaning up my office and putzing around on the computer. I was waiting up for him, figured he'd be home around midnight. By 12:30 I decided to go to bed. I heated up the rice bags to warm up his side of the bed ( He came home like a block of ice after flying at night up here), I did that so he wouldn't put his cold feet on ME when he slipped into the bed. He loved that I did that for him.
I rolled over and fell asleep and woke up with a start at 2:40 and immediately felt something was wrong. He should have been home by then. I sent a text at 2:43 "Babe,where are you?" Didn't get a response. Got out of bed, looked out the window to check for his truck, paced a few minutes. Got back in bed, trying to shake it off. But I felt seriously off. I texted him "Worried here-are you okay?" I laid down but my head was What If-ing already.
A few minutes later the doorbell rang. I know I freaked out but I also thought " Oh crap,he's home and I left the chain on the door!". The dog bolted down the stairs, I started walking down the stairs and got midway down and could see through the glass door. I could see guys in uniforms standing on my doorstep. My knees kind of buckled and I started shaking really bad. I walked slowly the rest of the way at one point thinking " Maybe they're cops, maybe he had a car accident". But I opened the door and two Army uniformed men were there. And I knew, but I didn't knew. I can't remember exactly what they said.They asked if they could come in and I ( must have been in shock) said " If I let two men in this house at 3am Frank's gonna kick my ass." The chaplain shook his head and said ' No, ma'am, he's not." And that's when I realized what they were there for. I asked them " Oh God, who was with him???" They couldn't tell me. I don't remember at what point I found out later that it was 3 others that died as well. I let them in and remember that slow walk to the living room and just shaking so bad and being so cold. I sat on the couch and just kept saying "I don't believe this." The guys were so nice, they were upset too, one of them read the official statement. something to the effect of " I regret to inform you that while flying a training mission last night on Dec 12 your husband CW3 Frank Buonicont ( except he pronounced it like picante) was killed ". Murder my heart. I'm sitting here typing this 19 days later and I still can't believe it. I went into complete shock. They asked if I wanted to call anyone and I had to go upstairs to get my phone. I called our friends Bobby & Melody who live down the street, Bobby is a pilot in Frank's troop too. I called Frank's brother so he could go tell their parents. I called our good friend Lori, who is also a pilot up here.
I don't remember much about that morning. Bobby,Melody and Lori got here pretty quickly, we decided to let the kids go to school without telling them. We had to to hold it together. It broke my heart putting Ronin on that school bus knowing that when he got home I was going to tell him the worst news ever. I know I spent the day just in shock. But we laughed, we cried, we laughed some more, we cried some more. I had to call about a million people and deliver the news. Every time I said it I still didn't believe it. About mid afternoon I finally just laid down on the bathroom floor and sobbed until I couldn't anymore. As the hours rolled by and it was time for kids to start getting home I just wanted the world to end. The thought of telling my poor sweet kids that their Daddy wasn't ever coming home again..... I still can't believe I had to do it.
But I did. I took Zoe for a short walk as soon as she got off the bus. It was awful. I took Ronin up to his room and told him. It was awful, he's 6 and he's our sensitive one. He just cried and cried so loudly. The other grownups in the house went outside, it was too much to listen to. I just sat and held him and cried too. Later I quietly told Liam that Daddy's helicopter crashed and that he was in Heaven now and wouldn't be coming home. I laid on head on my bed and started crying and he reached his little hand out and said "Don't cry Mommy, Daddy be home tomorrow!". I half wished they were all tiny and wouldn't understand, but on the other hand I know that at 3 years old Liam won't remember much later on. And that breaks my heart.
The day ended somehow, I don't remember. People were already flying in, family, friends from back East. Thank God for all of them surrounding us. I put the kids to bed, prayed and cried with them.
I am thankful for the weekend we had together as a family before he died. On Sunday we went and chopped down our Christmas tree. Frank made spaghetti and meatballs for us, Lori and Melody & Bobby and their 3 kids. I have no regrets about our time spent, I know he was happy when he left this earth. He died doing what he loved and he died leaving people feeling loved and blessed.
December 12, 2011 we got up to get the kids off to school. Frank was flying nights that week so he was home that morning. We got Zoe out to the bus, hung around with the boys , they watched the obnoxious Kia Hamster Party Rock commercial about 5 times, we danced around in the kitchen, laughed... normal "us" stuff. I had errands to run and he came with me so I wouldn't have to drag the toddlers out of the van every time. Came home, put the littles down for their nap and spent some nice time together before he headed out to work at 11:30. He kissed me goodbye, said "I love ya, see ya tonight" and got in his truck and drove off happy. He called me a few minutes later and said "Hey, would you close the garage door? I love you!".I went on with my day, Hunter had a doctor appointment that afternoon... our last one for a month. It was a cold day, but after we got back from the hospital I put the littles in the stroller and we were standing in our driveway when a Kiowa flew over the house low and slow. I knew it was him, I took a video of Liam yelling. We loved seeing Daddy fly over the house. Now that I think about it... that was the last glimpse we got of him. Flying out over Puget Sound... doing what he loved.
I got the big kids home from the bus stop and did our normal evening stuff. After the kids went to bed I was cleaning up my office and putzing around on the computer. I was waiting up for him, figured he'd be home around midnight. By 12:30 I decided to go to bed. I heated up the rice bags to warm up his side of the bed ( He came home like a block of ice after flying at night up here), I did that so he wouldn't put his cold feet on ME when he slipped into the bed. He loved that I did that for him.
I rolled over and fell asleep and woke up with a start at 2:40 and immediately felt something was wrong. He should have been home by then. I sent a text at 2:43 "Babe,where are you?" Didn't get a response. Got out of bed, looked out the window to check for his truck, paced a few minutes. Got back in bed, trying to shake it off. But I felt seriously off. I texted him "Worried here-are you okay?" I laid down but my head was What If-ing already.
A few minutes later the doorbell rang. I know I freaked out but I also thought " Oh crap,he's home and I left the chain on the door!". The dog bolted down the stairs, I started walking down the stairs and got midway down and could see through the glass door. I could see guys in uniforms standing on my doorstep. My knees kind of buckled and I started shaking really bad. I walked slowly the rest of the way at one point thinking " Maybe they're cops, maybe he had a car accident". But I opened the door and two Army uniformed men were there. And I knew, but I didn't knew. I can't remember exactly what they said.They asked if they could come in and I ( must have been in shock) said " If I let two men in this house at 3am Frank's gonna kick my ass." The chaplain shook his head and said ' No, ma'am, he's not." And that's when I realized what they were there for. I asked them " Oh God, who was with him???" They couldn't tell me. I don't remember at what point I found out later that it was 3 others that died as well. I let them in and remember that slow walk to the living room and just shaking so bad and being so cold. I sat on the couch and just kept saying "I don't believe this." The guys were so nice, they were upset too, one of them read the official statement. something to the effect of " I regret to inform you that while flying a training mission last night on Dec 12 your husband CW3 Frank Buonicont ( except he pronounced it like picante) was killed ". Murder my heart. I'm sitting here typing this 19 days later and I still can't believe it. I went into complete shock. They asked if I wanted to call anyone and I had to go upstairs to get my phone. I called our friends Bobby & Melody who live down the street, Bobby is a pilot in Frank's troop too. I called Frank's brother so he could go tell their parents. I called our good friend Lori, who is also a pilot up here.
I don't remember much about that morning. Bobby,Melody and Lori got here pretty quickly, we decided to let the kids go to school without telling them. We had to to hold it together. It broke my heart putting Ronin on that school bus knowing that when he got home I was going to tell him the worst news ever. I know I spent the day just in shock. But we laughed, we cried, we laughed some more, we cried some more. I had to call about a million people and deliver the news. Every time I said it I still didn't believe it. About mid afternoon I finally just laid down on the bathroom floor and sobbed until I couldn't anymore. As the hours rolled by and it was time for kids to start getting home I just wanted the world to end. The thought of telling my poor sweet kids that their Daddy wasn't ever coming home again..... I still can't believe I had to do it.
But I did. I took Zoe for a short walk as soon as she got off the bus. It was awful. I took Ronin up to his room and told him. It was awful, he's 6 and he's our sensitive one. He just cried and cried so loudly. The other grownups in the house went outside, it was too much to listen to. I just sat and held him and cried too. Later I quietly told Liam that Daddy's helicopter crashed and that he was in Heaven now and wouldn't be coming home. I laid on head on my bed and started crying and he reached his little hand out and said "Don't cry Mommy, Daddy be home tomorrow!". I half wished they were all tiny and wouldn't understand, but on the other hand I know that at 3 years old Liam won't remember much later on. And that breaks my heart.
The day ended somehow, I don't remember. People were already flying in, family, friends from back East. Thank God for all of them surrounding us. I put the kids to bed, prayed and cried with them.
I am thankful for the weekend we had together as a family before he died. On Sunday we went and chopped down our Christmas tree. Frank made spaghetti and meatballs for us, Lori and Melody & Bobby and their 3 kids. I have no regrets about our time spent, I know he was happy when he left this earth. He died doing what he loved and he died leaving people feeling loved and blessed.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Praying for you, sister. Lifting you and the kids up to Him so often. We love you so much!
ReplyDeleteThis day of doom for you, my friend, this day this horrible bad awful day that you lived and survived through, none of us would even be able to imagine a fraction of your pain and that of your babies. Thank you for sharing, thank you for being brave enough to let us walk this with you.
ReplyDeleteI still can't believe it Kryste. I know God has His plan, that is about all we do know right now right? Love you love you love you! I pray for many blessings for you and the kiddos in this coming year. I know that won't take away the pain but hopefully it will help you through it. XOXO
ReplyDeleteI knew you would eventually write it. I wanted to read it. It didn't make it any easier to read or accept or understand. I still pray for you daily and hang on your every post. God is preparing your crown in heaven and it must be REALLY amazing!
ReplyDeleteso thankful you have hope as an anchor. praying for you, and all the families, every day. hope this can be a therapeutic place for you to write--thank you for allowing us to be here.
ReplyDeleteIt's every military wife's worst nightmare...that doorbell ring. I still can't believe it and I never even met ya'll when you were here! The adoption community is how I found you and was bummed to find out I had JUST missed meeting your family! It is hard to understand why bad things happen to good people. I think I've spent more time since your hubby's death pondering God's goodness and MY perception of what bad and good look like than ever before in my life. Of course it's good for Frank. INSTANT paradise. But oh how hard, how sudden, and with such little ones. I have no answers. All I know is that regardless of our circumstances, HE remains unchanged and we either trust Him even when it hurts like hell or we turn away and are on our own. Your choice to continue to praise Him through the most grueling pain is a testimony to so many people. I trust that God will not waste your pain or your sweet children's pain. I trust that healing WILL come...on earth or in heaven...and I would love to see the reunion in heaven one of these days! Thank you for living out loud. I continue to pray for you especially for the days to come, in the months and years ahead when all of the "fanfare" dies down. You are never alone. Sweet friend I never "met", I wish very much I could send you a hug, but I will send up my prayers instead that He will continue to be the lifter of your head when your strength is gone.
ReplyDeleteLove,
Holly
I am just in tears reading this. I know this was hard to type, but the "play-by-play" helps us to understand how your last fay together was. I loved the video of Frank flying above you guys and it's like he was waving goodbye. Wow. Love you, hun!
ReplyDeleteTears flowed as I read your post. Thank you for letting us be apart of your grieving process. A day doesn't go by that we don't pray for you, the kids, and the other families. You've blessed my beyond measure. Your raw honesty is beautiful. Love you friend.
ReplyDeleteI don't know you but I happened to stumble upon this post tonight. I just want to tell you that I witnessed this. I read your story and it meant something to me. It mattered. Recently I've found myself thinking that I want to have the perspective of the people who have suffered, but without going through those actual experiences. To live like someone who survived a serious illness or accident. And love like someone would if they could just have one more day with their person. The only way that's possible is if stories are shared. So I'm grateful to have found this. Blessings to you and your children tonight.
ReplyDeleteI'm in tears reading this. I'm thankful to you for the ultimate sacrifice your family has made. I needed to read this today to remember to not ignore my husband when he walks in the door because I am too busy or in the middle of something important. I will drop everything and embrace him because I can.
ReplyDeletePrayers and peace to you and your sweet children. Thanks for sharing your story.