In this episode of Gold Star Stories, we share the life and sacrifice of Corporal Thomas Steven Hickman, a young soldier from Loogootee, Indiana, who served with courage and heart during the Vietnam War. Told through the voice of his younger brother Scott Hickman, this story reflects the love, loss, and resilience of a family forever changed by war.

As time passes, stories like Steve’s risk being forgotten — but through Gold Star Stories, we’re making sure their names remain spoken and their legacies live on.

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AI & Visual Disclaimer

While this episode focuses on the audio story, accompanying visuals shared online include AI-assisted recreations used to enhance storytelling.

Some scenes may not be historically or visually accurate. With limited surviving photos and resources, these recreations help illustrate moments that would otherwise be lost to time.

Gold Star Stories operates on limited means, often working with only a few affordable AI generations and restored family photos to tell each story.

With your support, the quality of these episodes and documentaries can grow exponentially — helping us restore real images, capture new interviews, and preserve even more voices from America’s Gold Star Families.

🎖️ Support the mission:

Visit GoldStarStoriesUSA.com

Your tax-deductible donation through Veterans Collaborative helps us record, restore, and remember.

Say their name. Remember their story. Honor their sacrifice.

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Some stories begin long before a uniform. In this episode of Gold Star Stories, Kevin Graves remembers his son, Specialist Joseph A. “Joey” Graves—a California kid who loved golf, pranks, and looking out for the underdog. After 9/11, Joey chose the Army’s Military Police, earned his wings, served in Korea, then deployed from Fort Hood to Iraq. On July 25, 2006, during a convoy near Sadr City, a well-planned ambush took his life at 21.

You will hear the knock at the door no parent wants, a community lined in flags, and the long road from shock to purpose. Kevin shares the last hug before deployment, the procession to Golden Gate National Cemetery, and how grief became motion—a memorial golf tournament that is now in its 20th year, a foundation that gathers survivors and funds scholarships, and a gym that carries Joey’s name so students see it every day. This is not a story about how someone died. It is about how a father keeps love working in the world.

If this mission matters to you, please consider supporting our work so we can keep recording and preserving these stories. Donations are tax deductible through our partnership with Veterans Collaborative. Learn more at GoldStarStoriesUSA.com.

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A mother’s love, a son’s calling. In this Gold Star Stories interview, Jill Stephenson shares the life and legacy of her only child, Corporal Ben Kopp—an athlete turned Army Ranger whose True North formed after 9/11. Jill walks us through three deployments in two years, the call no parent wants, the race from battlefield to Walter Reed, and the hard truth that followed. She also tells how Ben’s written wish to be an organ donor saved four lives, including a family friend’s—proof that courage can outlive the body. We talk about honoring final wishes, a Black Hawk flyover back home, and Ben’s resting place in Section 60 at Arlington. If this mission matters to you, help us keep these stories alive at GoldStarStoriesUSA.com.