By Dr. Mark Green, Tennessee State Senate, 22nd District

There won’t be any parades this Veterans Day for the spouses of our heroes, the ones who laid awake at night, worried sick over the fates of their loved ones in combat and their own futures half a world away. It is impossible for us to adequately thank a heartbroken widow or widower, but few of us, if any, will thank them for their service.

Malia Fry, for instance, waited in Lorena, Texas for her husband, a young explosive ordinance disposal technician, Marine Gunnery Sgt. John D. Fry. While she tried to sleep, he spent his days dismantling bombs in the Anbar province of Iraq.

John was just 28-years-old, and he had a bright future ahead of him. The Salutatorian of his high school class at the Waco Christian Academy, he and Malia had three beautiful children ranging in age from 2 to 9. By all accounts, though, his proudest accomplishment was when he first put on the uniform of the United States Marines.

“He was so proud to be there,” Malia recalls.

Fry was just weeks away from returning home to Malia and their three little children on March 8, 2006, when he injured his hand.

He had already completed most of his tour and his injuries could have meant an early ticket home, but John would have none of it. He insisted on continuing on the job and spent the next seven hours doing the dangerous and deadly work of disarming explosive devices.

One of them went off, killing him instantly.

“He laid down his life so other Marines would be safe, and he did it willingly,” Malia recalled. “Every EOD (explosive ordinance disposal) tech that is over there does the same thing a hundred times a day, and they don’t think about themselves.”

John Fry’s story so inspired Congress that in 2009 it established the “Marine Gunnery Sergeant John David Fry Scholarship,” which now pays the equivalent of full Post-9/11 GI Bill education benefits to the children of those who died in the line of duty after September 10, 2001.

In August, during a rare moment of bipartisan cooperation, Congress and the White House joined together to approve the Veterans Access, Choice and Accountability Act. One provision of this new legislation will expand eligibility for the Fry Scholarship, giving a valuable new educational option to the surviving spouses of those killed in action in the post-9/11 era.

Thanks to the newly expanded Fry Scholarship program, both the spouses and the surviving children of these heroes can now receive up to 36 months’ full tuition and fees for training at public institutions or up to $20,235.02 at private schools. They will also be entitled to a monthly housing allowance and a stipend for books and supplies.

For the surviving spouse who dreams of pursuing job training or higher education, the newly expanded Fry Scholarship provides a valuable alternative to the traditional Survivors’ and Dependents’ Educational Assistance Program. The so-called “DEA” program provides monthly training stipends of up to $1,018 for a maximum of 45 months.

Both programs can be used for college, business technical or vocational programs, training for certification tests, apprenticeships and on-the-job training, tutorial assistance or work-study. Participation does not affect a spouse’s receipt of Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC). The expanded Fry Scholarship can also be used for flight training.

In my medical practice and my travels throughout our area, I’ve come to know too many men and women who have lost a spouse in combat. Theirs is a singularly lonely road, and we owe it to them — and to the sacrifices of their fallen loved ones — to extend our appreciation by helping them achieve their dreams.

Applications for the newly-expanded Fry Scholarship are now being received; I encourage every spouse of a fallen hero who died in the post-9/11 era to inquire about eligibility.

I can think of no better tribute to your lost loved one on this Veterans Day — or to you.

Thank you for your service, too.