Every Fisher House has a special mission: to serve as a "Home Away From Home" for wounded warriors and their families while a loved one is receiving care at a military hospital. That includes the 100th Fisher House, scheduled to be dedicated in North Chicago this Saturday, July 29.
But across the river in Delaware, there is one Fisher House with a mission different from all the others. Not to serve families who are supporting their hurting heroes, but to support families who have suffered the ultimate loss.
It's the Fisher House for Families of the Fallen at Dover Air Force Base.
"When Zach Fisher began the Fisher Houses, he wanted the families to be treated like guests; those were his standards," David Coker, president of the Fisher House Foundation, told DVJournal.
Zach Fisher, an immigrant to the U.S., helped create a successful construction business. He built the first Fisher House in 1991 at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md.
All of the houses are partnered with a military hospital, allowing active-duty military members injured during their service or veterans receiving life-saving care to stay in a home setting with their families while undergoing treatment. And always for free.
Freedom Oak at the Mediation Pavilion on the Fisher House for the Families of the Fallen campus at Dover Air Force Base, Delaware, May 23, 2025. The Fisher House Foundation commissioned artist Deran Wright, along with the Schafer Art Bronze Team, to create a new bronze tree of life. (U.S. Air Force photo by Jason Minto)
Since the first house opened, more than 534,000 families have been served, receiving more than 12.5 million nights of lodging and saving these families more than $650 million in lodging and transportation costs.
But at the Fisher House in Dover, the mission is different. Instead of being partnered with a hospital, it serves the Campus for the Families of the Fallen at Dover Air Force Base, part of the Air Force Mortuary Affairs Operation.
Instead of hospital supplies and IV hookups, the Fisher House for the Families of the Fallen features a 1,714-square-foot Meditation Pavilion that provides a place for families to gather, pray, and reflect.
In her year and a half in charge of the Fisher House at Dover, Air Force Tech. Sgt. Samantha Hogan has comforted more than 200 bereaved families.
Hogan told DVJournal she volunteered for the Fisher House position.
"It's one of the most prized appointments of our career field (mortuary affairs)," she said. "It can be quite difficult caring for these grieving families as they move through, really, one of the most difficult times in their lives. But it's also really rewarding in the end. We truly get to watch them go through a portion of their grief process."
The idea behind the Fisher House is to have multiple families in the house at the same time, sharing a kitchen and common rooms--a natural support network of military families helping each other.
Tech. Sgt. Samantha Hogan, Air Force Mortuary Affairs Operations Fisher House for Families of the Fallen section chief, briefs members of the 436th Force Support Squadron at Dover Air Force Base, Delaware, Jan. 24, 2025. (U.S. Air Force photo by Jason Minto)
That included the family of Air Force Capt. Ryan Phaneuf, who perished in a plane crash in Afghanistan in 2020. His sister, Christina Larsen, traveled to Dover and stayed at the Fisher House. While she was there, Larsen met the family of Lt. Col. Paul Voss, the other pilot killed in the crash.
"I don't think, if we never went to Fisher House, we would even know who the Voss Family is," Larson said in an interview. "But for our circumstance, where, you know, it was just my brother and this other pilot. You have people who are going through the exact same thing. And oddly enough, that makes the best friends. I mean, we all still talk to them. I have them on Facebook. I know one of his daughters just graduated from college. We've met up with them at Arlington Cemetery in Virginia, as well as a dedication memorial in Georgia.
"That's all because of the Fisher House."
Another "great mission partner," according to Hogan, is the USO.
"The USO has a separate Families of the Fallen (FOF) lounge at the Philadelphia Airport, where grieving families have a quiet, calm space to use during their travels to and from Dover, " said Jessica Reid, USO executive director for the region.
Helping families can be as simple as providing a ride from the airport. That's why a Casualty Affairs officer transports the family from the Philadelphia Airport to the Fisher House in Dover.
"Navigating the airport on a good day can be overwhelming. But when families are going through this tough journey, it can be even more so," said Reid.
Many people who stay at the Fisher House are drawn to the Meditation Pavilion, centered by a bronze "Freedom Oak."
"This space gives the family a tranquil space to use for anything they need, whether it's private conversations or prayer," Hogan said.
At the dedication of the sculpture in May, Lt. Col. Crystal Glaster, AFMAO Deputy Commander, explained its significance and how it reflects the mission of this Fisher House.
"These families come to us in the most difficult times of their lives, some numb, some in shock and disbelief, but all very aware that their life will be forever changed. Our hope is this piece reminds them to look up and keep moving forward. There are new branches, new leaves, and more blooming that is yet to come, but they are anchored by the memory of their loved ones."
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