Posted on 04/09/2015 12:30:22 PM PDT by dignitasnews
Having served overseas in three deployments during his tenure for the United Stated Army, SFC Monte Kaiser assumed his days of fighting were over. Tragic events in the past month however have charged a Desert Storm veteran with the task of preparing for what could be his greatest mission, where love and his sense of honor will be his primary weapons. Having lost his fiancee, Tanaya Goins, in a senseless and devastating tragedy, he need carry on without her for the sake of the son she left behind, and fulfill an obligation he takes on without reserve.
Shortly after graduating from high school in Seattle, WA, Kaiser enlisted in the US Army in 1989 with a deep sense to serve the country he loved. Not long after he completed his training, he was deployed to the Middle East to serve in Operation Desert Storm, one of our many brave men and women who helped liberate Kuwait from its invasion by Iraq. After having served in Bosnia during Operation Joint Endeavor, he found himself back in the Middle East, this time as part of the force that defeated the Baathist regime and Saddam Hussein during Operation Iraqi Freedom. Having served his country with honor looked forward to a blissful future with the woman he met and fell in love with prior to his final deployment.
SFC Monte Kaiser and Tanaya Goins, during happier times.
Monte and Tanaya met in 2007 and the two became engaged shortly before his final assignment and deployment to Iraq. Upon his retirement from the Army as a Sergeant First Class, he returned and settled in the Los Angeles area, where Ms. Goins lived. The two planned a life together, deciding to marry once they had both completed their education. Kaiser worked toward completing his degree in Business Administration, which he accomplished this past year, graduating magna cum laude from California State University in Los Angeles. For her part, Tanaya was working toward a Bachelor of Science degree in Criminal Justice. She received her Associates Degree from Pasadena City College in 2012, ad was likewise attending CSULA to finish a goal she was ever so close to achieving.
In addition to Ms. Goins, Monte also fell in love with her young son, Andre, now 13. Rather than just being "part of the deal," Monte saw Andre as a big part of the blessings he had received in meeting Tanaya, and the three could look forward to a future as a family in every respect of the word. He looked forward to being both a husband to her, and a parent and role model for this bright and happy youngster, and relished building a life together. Then tragedy struck.
Early on the morning of March 5, 2015 an argument ensued between Tanaya and her brother Johnny, who was staying with her at her apartment temporarily. In a saddening course of events, Johnny pulled out a gun and began firing. Gunshots grazed Andre, grazing and injuring him, although not fatally. Tanaya, however, was not as fortunate. In a heart-wrenching tale as old as Cane and Abel, Ms. Goins lay dead from gunfire at the hands of her own brother, with Andre being the sole witness of seeing the uncle he loved kill his mother, the person he loved on this earth above all others.
Upon hearing the news, Kaiser was of course devastated beyond comprehension. Every hope, plan and dream he had laid out for the rest of his life had been snatched away in a matter of seconds that tragic morning. Having lost the woman he loved left him understandably inconsolable at first, filled with rage, sorrow and grief. What has kept him going, however, is the responsibility he happily expected to take on when planning to marry Tanaya, and one his heart willingly accepts now with her absence, the caring of young Andre.
Still a family, just missing one.
One can only imagine the devastation of a young man who has not only lost his beloved mother, but having been witness to her demise, at the hands of a fellow loved one. In addition to taking on the financial responsibility of raising and educating Andre, the young man will undoubtedly require counseling and therapy to process the pain and confusion of a tragic event that turned his life upside down.
As Monte is left with handling the emotional burden of helping Andre through this devastating time, he has the young boys grandmother and family to help carry this load, but is largely on his own to carry the financial burden. He and Tanaya had methodically planned out this aspect, deciding to forgo their nuptials until they had realized their educational goals, and secured employment in their fields of study to adequately provide for their and Andre's needs. The horrific events of March 5 have expedited those plans as well.
Along with Andre's grandmother, Monte has set up a GoFund campaign, For the Love of Tanaya, to assist in the costs of educating Andre. That Andre could go directly from high school to university, without having to delay his education in order to make ends meet was the greatest wish of his mother, Tanaya. In memory of her and to fulfill this desire, they hope to see this goal accomplished. SFC Monte Kaiser is an administrator of this account, to ensure that the funds are spent in accordance with Ms. Goins dreams. We submit the link below for your consideration. On the part of Dignitas News, any and all advertising revenue from this particular story will go toward this fund for Andre.
http://www.gofundme.com/odt8d0
While headlines across the nation this past month have been filled with stories of Bowe Bergdahl, a soldier who allegedly (we will use the term "allegedly" in deference only to allowing military justice to take its course) deserted his brothers-in-arms in a cowardly and dishonorable fashion, we felt this sad tale of a US Army soldier who risked himself in three deployments for his country deserved to be told. The same honor and sense of duty in which this veteran served all of us, during Operation Desert Storm, Operation Joint Endeavor and Operation Iraqi Freedom, he now puts to use in possibly his greatest mission, helping a devastated young man make sense of the fate he has been dealt.
By Dignitas News Service
Sources:
CBSLosAngeles GoFund LosAngelesTimes
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