FT Hood soldiers help boy’s dream come true

Staff report
Posted : Monday Mar 31, 2008 13:12:26 EDT

A group of Army aviators from Fort Hood, Texas, recently helped 5-year-old Gaven Cox forget his battle with cancer by granting his wish to be a soldier for a day.

Sitting at the controls of a simulator on March 20, young Gavin flew a virtual Apache helicopter combat flight with C Company, 3rd Assault Helicopter Battalion, 227th Aviation Regiment over Baghdad and then maneuvered on an actual Black Hawk flight, according to an Army press release.

Gaven’s training day was set up through the Make-A-Wish Foundation. He was diagnosed with leukemia in December 2007.

His mother, Melissa Heminger, said she has watched her son soldier on through the past several weeks of treatment.

“I look at him everyday and he’s fighting it. I know that there are days it’s hard for him to just walk to the bathroom, but he just keeps going strong and keeps smiling. The things that children can overcome are amazing,” she said in the release.

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http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/03/army_soldierforaday_033008w/