On May 24, 2026, Angela Boyle made a call she never imagined. She told her three sons, stationed at separate military bases, that their grandfather, Scott Mulrenin, had passed away suddenly from a heart attack.

Only minutes earlier, Angela had arrived at the hospital prepared to help her father recover however she could. Instead, doctors met her with an end-of-life plan.

Amid the shock of her father’s sudden passing, Angela turned to the American Red Cross for help reaching her sons. Within hours, Austin, who served in the Air National Guard and was stationed in Israel, called to tell her he was coming home.

Heading back to his home of Eliot, Maine, Austin was followed by his brothers, Gavin and Ethan. Gavin serves in the Army at Fort Moore in Georgia, and Ethan serves in the Army Guard at the Army Reserve in Bangor, Maine. Across branches and borders, all three Boyle brothers arrived home within days. 

“When you have a loss like that, you realize you don't get moments back. Having my sons home was a gift,” Angela said. “Because of the Red Cross, we were all able to be together to honor my father and send him off with dignity and respect. That meant so much to our entire family.”

Soon after her sons returned home, Angela received a video of Austin practicing Taps — the ceremonial bugle call traditionally played at military funerals — with his young son in their kitchen. Austin was preparing to play Taps in uniform at his grandfather’s service.

At his grandfather’s service at Peirce Island in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, Gavin participated in the military honors too, saluting the flag as Ethan presented the folded flag to their grandmother.

“Those moments were so much more meaningful because they were there in person. It wasn't just someone else doing it for us. It was family,” Angela said.

Angela’s three sons share a legacy of military service with their grandfather, a Vietnam War veteran. Months before his passing, Scott took photos with his three grandsons, each dressed in military uniform while he proudly wore his Vietnam veteran hat.

Remembering the day they took photos at Fort McClary, Angela said, “Someone who used to feel so beaten up from the commitments he made to his country was now sitting alongside three of his grandsons who so proudly serve. It was a moment when he could feel proud of his service and the legacy he created.”

“I feel like we were able to send him off the way he deserved. Without the Red Cross making it possible for my sons to come home, I don't think we would have had that,” said Angela.

At a recent Red Cross Service to the Armed Forces event, Angela spotted the Red Cross table and immediately made her way over to thank the team. “I felt like I needed to seek out the Red Cross just to say thank you,” Angela said.

The Red Cross processes over 1,300 emergency communication messages daily, important correspondence tied to families just like Angela’s. Red Cross Service to the Armed Forces teams are there, across the globe, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to support those who serve and their loved ones, from enlistment to life after service.

“I want people to know that there are positive things and that it will be okay,” Angela said. “Use your resources, communicate, and have faith in the opportunities that are out there.”

To learn more about Red Cross Service to the Armed Forces, visit redcross.org/saf, or click here to learn more about Red Cross emergency communications.