Snowball Express families arrive at DFW

On a special American Airlines flight for kids like her, 9-year-old Iliana Loza climbed into one of the festively decorated luggage compartments.

Laughing, Iliana explained that this plane ride was different from any other. Typical in-flight rules were out the window.

The walls were decorated with tinsel and snowflakes; Santa Claus greeted the passengers; a firetruck sprayed the side of the plane with water; and kids were allowed to do things normally forbidden on planes — climb on seats, get up and walk around, throw plastic toys at grown-ups, sing and shout, and even take “selfies” in the overhead bins.

But the scene also had an inescapable sadness: Each child had a mother or father in the military who was killed in the line of duty since 2001.

The children were riding the Snowball Express, now in its ninth year, which provides good memories and hope for the families.

More than 1,600 family members were flown to Dallas/Fort Worth Airport on 10 American Airlines charter flights from Europe, Asia, Puerto Rico, Alaska and Hawaii, as well as other parts of the U.S.

About 140 American Airlines pilots and flight attendants donated their time on the charter flights. Other volunteers, dressed as Disney characters and comic book superheroes, greeted the passengers, cheering as they walked by.

Iliana and her grandmother Amelia Gonzales took a flight from San Antonio that stopped at the Killeen-Fort Hood Regional Airport to pick up more families.

Then they were off to DFW for a long weekend of festivities.

“When he died, I felt bad. But I didn’t really know what was going on,” Iliana said of her dad, Army National Guard Sgt. Christopher David Loza, who died in Iraq in 2009.

For Iliana, who has been on the Snowball Express four years in a row, it is a chance to meet other kids like her.

“All the kids, they feel how you feel. When I make a friend, I don’t have to tell them about my dad. They feel the same way,” she said.

Brig. Gen. Les Simpson of the 36th Infantry Division of the Army National Guard met Iliana and her grandmother when they boarded.

It’s important to show the kids they are still part of the military family, he said.

“They need to know we haven’t forgotten about them,” Simpson said.

Abby Thompson, 9, her sister Isabelle, 11, and their mother, Emily McClain, arrived from Charlotte, N.C. Like Iliana, Abby knows she isn’t alone when she comes to Snowball.

“At my school, I’m the only person and it feels weird. It feels good to know there are other people out there who are like me,” said Abby, surrounded by kids at DFW Airport.

McClain said, “To let them know they are in this position for a reason, to let the kids know how important they are and that they are really heroes, that is important.”

Volunteer Kate Mize, whose husband is deployed in Saudi Arabia, waited with her therapy dog, a schnauzer named Goofy Bob, to greet the kids.

“To see the families that have paid the ultimate sacrifice, and we still have my husband, it is the least we can do,” Mize said.

Abby’s dad, Capt. David “J.P.” Thompson of the Army Special Forces, was killed in Afghanistan in January 2010. Her favorite memory is of wrestling with him on the floor.

“He was a great father,” McClain said, remembering how her husband would call from Afghanistan for parent-teacher conferences.

“It is great to be here, because Christmas can be a pretty difficult time of year,” McClain said. “It is great to make new memories, new traditions.”

McClain served in the Army National Guard for seven years.

This is the first year Snowball Express is basing its operations in Fort Worth. It moved from Dallas after receiving a warm welcome from Cowtown residents during one-day trips to Fort Worth in 2012 and 2013.

On Saturday, the annual Walk of Gratitude will offer a chance for residents to welcome the 1,800 children, widows and widowers. The walk down Main Street begins at 10 a.m.

The weekend will include a trip to the Sheriff’s Posse Ranch in Weatherford for a “Western ranch experience” and a cookout; a visit to Dallas’ Perot Museum of Nature and Science; a screening of the movie Annie; and a talent show. The group will also visit the Fort Worth Zoo and see a performance by actor Gary Sinise and his Lt. Dan Band.

While the weekend is certainly fun — Isabelle enjoys the free candy, Abby likes making new friends, and Iliana loves all the games — McClain said the best thing is healing.

McClain said her girls discuss their father’s death on their own terms.

“And that has really evolved over the years,” she said. “When we first came, when Abby was 5, it was like, ‘Did your dad die? Did your dad die? OK, let’s go play.’ Now I’ve seen it evolve so they want to talk about their fathers, and they initiate it on their own, peer to peer.”

This story was originally published December 11, 2014 at 4:05 PM with the headline "Snowball Express families arrive at DFW."