Sacramento Kings welcome family of fallen soldier
For 12-year-old NBA fan Kyle Bolor, sitting courtside at the Sacramento Kings game Friday night was a chance to not just watch some hoops, but to see his father honored for making the ultimate sacrifice for his country.
Kyle’s father, Kelly Martin Bolor, was an Army reservist and a supply specialist who was killed when two Black Hawk helicopters collided in the air over Mosul, Iraq, in 2003. He was 37.
The organization Honoring Our Fallen arranged to have the Bolor family attend the game on the 10th anniversary of Bolor’s death, and to have him honored at halftime.
Kyle, along with his mother, flew from Bob Hope Airport to Sacramento with complimentary tickets from Southwest Airlines.
Laura Herzog, who founded Honoring Our Fallen in 2011 after working for the Department of Defense as a civilian employee, said that when she saw Kyle’s Christmas list this year, she knew exactly what to give him.
“His list was all about the NBA — NBA this and NBA that,” she said. “[Kings co-owner] Adrienne Maloof had offered to help me to take one of our families to a Kings game, and I took her up on that offer.”
Herzog said that although Kyle is an avowed Lakers fan, he was thrilled to be attending a game.
“This kid smiled from ear to ear,” she said. “For me, it’s just really exciting because I work with them and their grieving — [it] brings me joy to know we brought joy and happiness to this family.”
--
Follow Daniel Siegal on Google+ and on Twitter: @Daniel_Siegal.