Children of lost veterans take off on the Snowball Express

JILL TOYOSHIBA/The Kansas City S

With the help of his mother, Robin Leininger (from left), Nathan Leininger of Topeka, 9, opened his gifts, and Tanya Bush of Centerview, Mo., helped her grandson Colton Munger, 5, with his. The Snowball Express stopped at KCI on Wednesday to fly children and spouses of military personnel who have died in active duty to Dallas.

Colton Munger’s dad was buried the week before the toddler celebrated his first birthday.

Yet images of Army Spc. Joshua Munger are always present in the 5-year-old’s life. On Wednesday, he wore a hooded sweatshirt with pictures of his father screen-printed on the front and back.

Colton was one of 15 children at Kansas City International Airport — and one of more than 1,300 from across the country — who flew Wednesday to Dallas for an all-expense-paid vacation.

The trip came courtesy of American Airlines and Snowball Express, a national nonprofit that assists children who have lost a parent in military action since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

Spc. Munger, from Maysville, Mo., was killed in November 2005 when an explosion tore apart his Humvee in Baghdad. He left behind his wife and Colton, who now live in Centerview, Mo., near Warrensburg.

Colton’s grandmother, Tanya Bush, said the photos on the sweatshirt were a way to remind Colton of his father.

“He’s aware of how special his dad is,” Bush said. “He knows his father is watching over him in heaven.”

Colton was excited about the bag of toys and candy he received from group organizers.

“This is awesome,” he said as he bounced around a waiting area decorated for Christmas. He and the other children munched on deli sandwiches and Christmas cookies and drank hot apple cider and soda while waiting for their plane.

The 10 families making the trip from KCI came from cities including Independence and Shawnee and towns such as Wamego, Kan.

Mayor Mark Funkhouser went to the airport to send them off.

“This is great the Snowball Express is doing this,” Funkhouser said. “It’s hard on these families and this is one way to help the children cope with their loss.”

While in Dallas, the families will see a rodeo and meet the Dallas Cowboys and the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders. They’ll go through football and cheerleading clinics.

They also will meet the Dallas Mavericks and attend a ball game against the Charlotte Bobcats. Actor Gary Sinise and the Lt. Dan Band will perform. Several restaurants are donating meals.

Robin Leininger, whose son Nathan, 9, was taking his fourth trip on the Snowball Express, said the experience was special. “This really helps with the kids; they have something in common, they bond together, they play together and they know no stranger,” said Leininger, of Topeka.

The children, accompanied by their mothers and other caregivers, will return Sunday.

Jill Goetsch of Shawnee smiled as her three daughters examined their gift bags.

“They have been looking forward to this all year,” said Goetsch, whose husband, Army 2nd Lt. Benjamin Colgan, was killed in November 2003 in Baghdad by a remotely triggered bomb. Colgan was responding to a rocket-propelled grenade attack when he died.

“The girls see how so many people appreciate his sacrifice and service,” Goetsch said.

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