Like most couples, Amy Dozier and her husband, Staff Sgt. Jonathan Dozier, had dreams and plans. They dreamed of starting a family, and that dream came true with the birth of their daughter Emma in December of 2006. Young and full of hope, they set their sights on what was sure to be a bright future they’d both create for their tiny miracle. A future that was sure to be full of adventure and new beginnings. But on January 9, 2008, in a country thousands of miles away, Amy’s dreams and plans were taken from her in an instant.
When Jon deployed to Iraq in 2007, Amy never dreamed her last conversation with him would be on Christmas Day. “That last conversation is something I’ll take to the grave with me,” she said. She never imagined that she would be left to raise their daughter by herself. Jon was killed by an IED while serving in Iraq, and just like that, Amy was a widow with a 13- month-old baby. “I think I was in a state of shock for the first 2 years after Jon’s death,” she said. But through her grief, Amy knew that she still had work to do. “I knew that my job was two-fold; to keep myself alive and to keep my daughter alive.” But in the 11 years since Jon’s death, she has done so much more.
Amy knew that if she was going to come through this tragedy on the other end that she needed to have help. “I threw myself into non-profits that serve families of the fallen,” she said. Non-profits that focus on helping those left behind to deal with the anxiety and depression that follows a loss. But Amy didn’t stop there. Three years after what she calls her “grief journey,” Amy decided that she wanted more than to be a recipient of these amazing non-profits, she wanted to be a part of them. Amy went back to school and received her Master’s Degree in Public Affairs and is now a Non-Profit Strategist. “Through my work in the non-profit sector, I’ve grown to understand why Jon joined the military, he wanted to serve something bigger than himself,” she said. “And I’ve grown to know and love him even more after his death and am working to keep his memory and legacy alive for Emma.”
Amy is in good company when it comes to serving those who have served their country. In 2007, together with members of the Home Builders Association of Raleigh-Wake County, a group of veterans called the US Veterans Corp., wanted to create a project for service members who were severely wounded in combat, by providing them with a home of their own. Amy was no stranger to Operation Coming Home, but she never thought the house they would be building would be hers. In March of this year, Amy and Emma were invited to the Home Marketing Awards ceremony in Raleigh. What they didn’t know was that not only would they be attending, they would be receiving as well. At the award ceremony, Amy and Emma were surprised with a giant cardboard key, the key to their new home. “It hasn’t been an easy road,” Amy said, “But I’m learning that there is so much beauty to be found in the most grievous of circumstances.”
Not one to sit by the sidelines, Amy is now working with multiple charity organizations as a non-profit strategist to help pull them forward and to keep them going. “We’ve been given such a beautiful gift, and I want to give back. It is all about community support and membership. The idea of partnership and working together,” she said. Amy is using her story to lift others up and to help those that are going through the unimaginable to realize that there is light at the end of the tunnel.
Amy’s goal has been to keep Jon’s legacy alive. A legacy that is full of self- sacrifice, determination, and a desire to be a part of something so much larger than yourself. A legacy that she sees in the eyes and the giving heart of her daughter. Though he was taken from his family far too soon, Staff Sgt. Jonathan Dozier left behind a wife and daughter who will spend every moment spreading his legacy and making him proud.
Amy and Emma will be moving into their new home, built by Experience One, in Apex on November 11, Veteran’s Day.
For more information about the U.S. Veteran’s Corp.: Operation Coming Home, please visit https://www.hbawake.com/operation-coming-home.html.
