In 2009, Captain Matthew Freeman, USMC, was killed in action in Afghanistan. His mother, Lisa Freeman, founded the Matthew Freeman Project, a charitable organization, in his memory. Among her many activities with this foundation is the creation of teddy bears made from the uniforms of American soldiers who have died in the line of duty.
(Photos: Matthew Freeman Project)
Lisa Freeman gives these to children who have lost loved ones in the war. It's a way for her to cope with the pain of her own loss as well as help families grieve and remember. In an interview with CNN, she said:
I don’t know about big, but I think that I’m making a difference . . . It makes me stop and think about Matthew . . . He’s loving that something good is happening out of something so tragic.