Lost teddy bear goes viral, contains recorded voice of military man lost to suicide


It’s a Facebook posting seen around the world. A family finds a lost teddy bear with a recorded message clearly from a man deployed to Afghanistan. As a military family themselves, they knew they only had one choice — find its rightful owner.

The Fields family from Indiana found the lost teddy at a garage sale. After a few hours with their special, garage sale find, the Fields’ daughter realized it had a button hidden inside. Mother Amanda posts that she exposed the bear’s little speaker only to discover a very special message: “Merry Christmas from Afghanistan. Daddy misses you. Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. I’ll see you soon, I love you.”

FOX News reports Paige Holguin saw the posting from her office in Los Angeles. She recognized the bear as the one her late brother gave her niece more than eight years ago. He was a veteran who battled PTSD and lost the bear when he was evicted from an apartment.

The bear has even more meaning to Holguin — it holds a priceless treasure — the voice of her brother — lost to suicide after fighting a losing battle with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

“If you could see my hands, you’d know they’re shaking,” Holguin tells FOX News. “I thought, Oh My God, I thought that was lost years ago. To find out it’s in Indiana? Who knew?”

FOX News reports Holguin is now working with the Fields family to reunite the stuffed animal with her niece who is now 16 years old.

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Author

  • Jim Verchio is a staff writer for Popular Military. As a retired Air Force Public Affairs craftsman, Jim has served at all levels. From staff writer to Editor-In-Chief, he has more than 30 years experience covering military topics in print and broadcast from the CONUS to Afghanistan. He is also a two time recipient of the DoD’s prestigious Thomas Jefferson Award for journalism excellence.

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