Thankfully, the Fisher House in Dover is empty this Memorial Day.
The Dover House for Families of the Fallen is part of the Fisher House Foundation. The foundation’s 91 homes worldwide serve as a refuge for wounded, injured or ill service members.
The home in Dover was built in 2010 to provide temporary housing for Gold Star Families who come to meet the remains of the fallen as they return to American soil at the Dover Air Force Base’s military mortuary.
“Prior to the Fisher House there, a family would usually get the call at all hours of the night, and if they could get to the base to witness the repatriotization of the remains, they never really had a place to stay,” Chairman and CEO of the Fisher House Foundation Ken Fisher.
Tech Sgt. Kayla Hemmesch manages the house. She says each day a staff of military personnel keeps up the gardens, cleans the house and makes sure groceries are stocked.
“We’re glad to have an empty house and we want no one to come to our house. However, if it were to happen that we’re there to support them with whatever they may need,” said Hemmesch.
The Dover Fisher House has served more than 3,700 families since its inception, helping them save on hotels and other travel expenses.
Hemmesch says it’ll be a quiet Memorial Day weekend there this year.