Flat Daddies keep memories alive for fallen soldier’s family - Navy Community, Navy Spouse and Family Resources - Navy Times

Flat Daddies keep memories alive for fallen soldier’s family

When Army Capt. Brian “Bubba” Bunting went to fight in Afghan-istan in 2008, his toddler son, Connor, was soon looking up to a smiling life-size cutout of his dad.

It was a gift made possible by a donor to flatdaddies.com, which prints the head-and-shoulders pictures for military families.

“He carried his ‘daddy’ around the house, hugged it, kissed it, and even danced with it,” says Connor’s mom, Nicki Bunting.

“When my husband returned home for R&R, my son instantly recognized him at the airport. He ran up to him and hugged him so tight. I know it was the Flat Daddy that helped him to recognize his father that day, as the last time he had seen him in person he was only 11 months old.”

Connor’s dad was killed in combat a few days after returning to Afghanistan.

“Shortly after I was notified of his death, I was ecstatic to learn that I was pregnant with the R&R baby we had been hoping for. I immediately knew that I would have our Flat Daddy with me as I delivered our precious baby. I wanted Mommy and Daddy to be the first things for him to see as he entered this world,” Bunting says.

“As I labored, I was able to look at my handsome husband’s face in front of me. It was better than just a picture. It was like he was right there with me. Seeing him gave me the strength to get through the labor and delivery and welcome our miracle child. His first photo is with Mommy and Daddy, just as it should be.”

Now the founder of Bubba’s Belly Run, an annual fundraiser that has collected more than $100,000 for war widows and families of the fallen, Bunting has made it a point to pay forward the gift she received.

“I knew how grateful I was to have been a recipient of such a kind gift and how much it meant to our family,” Bunting says. “I wanted to be able to give that gift to other families as well.”

While loved ones are lost, their memories never have to die, she says. “Both of my sons now have a Flat Daddy in their bedroom, and I know this will forever keep an image of their father in their head. There is no better gift to me than the gift of memories.”