Winter 2007 USAA.com Magazine

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Families don’t
want their loved
ones forgotten.
An Act of
Gratitude
Canadian native honors
fallen U.S. heroes.
When t v anchor rebecca
Pepin earned her U.S. citizenship
last year, the judge challenged her
to make a difference. She has done
exactly that, in spades.
Pepin used her own savings and
time off to compile Faces of Freedom,
a book published in May that profiles
52 U.S. military men and women who
have died in Iraq and Afghanistan since
9/11. She tapped a team of volunteer
writers to honor one fallen hero from
each of the 50 states, plus Puerto Rico
and Washington, D.C.
“Faces of Freedom is a tribute to
everyone who has paid the ultimate
price and all who are serving or
have served,” says Pepin, who lives
in Bristol, Va., with her husband,
a former Army Black Hawk pilot.
All proceeds from the book benefit
veterans through the Wounded
Warrior Project and the Fisher
House program.
“I couldn’t imagine making money
from this book,” Pepin says. “The goals
are to raise awareness — families
don’t want their loved ones forgotten
— and money for the wounded.”
Though Pepin more than met the
challenge presented at her citizenship
hearing, she believes she’s received
more than she’s given. “Their stories
have touched me deeply,” she says.
“It’s truly rewarding.”
photo gr aphy by Joshua carpenter
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