Family members of fallen U.S. soldiers honored at KCI with the ‘Snowball Express’

Forty-one military children and spouses of fallen U.S. military members left Kansas City International Airport on Saturday. They embarked on an all-expense-paid journey to Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas, for the 12th annual Snowball Express.

The holidays can be difficult for those who have lost a loved one — especially the families of our fallen military.

Snowball Express is a nonprofit organization with the goal of “Serving the Children of Our Fallen Military Heroes.” Snowball Express aims to bring hope and new happy memories to the children of military heroes who have died while on active duty since 9/11.

More than 1,500 family members are participating in the event this year.

As the official airline of Snowball Express, American Airlines is providing the majority of the air travel, and all flight crews and hundreds of team member volunteers are donating their time to participate in the program.

This story was originally published December 9, 2017 at 1:25 PM with the headline "Family members of fallen U.S. soldiers honored at KCI with the ‘Snowball Express’."