SFC Gil Ortiz' family emergency fund

This family has suffered something none of us could imagine.  On Sunday, 16 February, SFC Ortizcalderon (Gil) took his own life. Gil was home on emergency leave in Raeford, NC from a 1 year tour in Korea due to the death of his wife's papa. The suicide rate for active-duty U.S. military members in 2018 was the highest on record since the Defense Department began tracking self-inflicted deaths in 2001.  According to an article written in Military.com in September, 2019, 22 veterans die by suicide per day, or one every 65 minutes.

Gil was a Sergeant First Class serving 11 years 8 months in the United States Army. He was a 94M/94W (radar repair specialist/electronic maintenance chief) having completed 1 tour to Afghanistan. He was well respected by the Soldiers under his leadership. He was also a committed family man, husband, and father. Gil was loving, funny, and had a contagious smile and laugh. There was no doubt about the love and adoration he felt for his wife Taylor, daughters Gireliss, Nathalia, Susan, and his son Ian.

Sadly, Taylor and the kids, along with their extended family, are left with an enormous, life changing loss. How any of them will move forward from here is unfathomable. Taylor will have a large enough burden to carry just making it through this tragedy.  Due to the circumstances of Gil's passing, his family is not guaranteed the financial support that Soldiers qualify for when being killed in the line of duty.

ANY donation to help support the Ortizcalderon family is sincerely appreciated, and every dollar will go to Taylor, to support her family now and in the future.

If you or someone you know needs help, the Veterans Crisis Line is staffed 24 hours a day, seven days a week, at [phone redacted], press 1. Services also are available online at www.veteranscrisisline.net or by text, 838255.

Thank you for your generosity.