Avondale Gold Star Mother honors fallen Marine son through service

Mother leads Arizona Gold Star families in service, honors Marine son's legacy

Seven years after the death of her son, Lance Cpl. Justin Andrew Hinds, an Avondale mother leads a support group for grieving military families. FOX 10's Jacob Luthi learns more about how the Gold Star Mother is continuing her son's mission. 

AVONDALE, Ariz. - An Avondale mother is honoring her son’s memory while leading a state chapter of families who’ve experienced military loss. 

What we know:

Patricia Hinds lost her son, Lance Cpl. Justin Andrew Hinds, who died while stationed at Camp Lejeune seven years ago. 

Hinds said she was put into a club no one ever wants to join, and now she leads it. As president of the Arizona chapter of the American Gold Star Mothers, she says the work not only serves her community, it gives her a way to channel her grief into action.

In her Avondale home, the memory of Lance Cpl. Hinds is kept alive every day by the family he left behind.

"That’s my baby. Almost crashed when I saw it because they didn't tell me they were putting it up," Hinds said. "When you get that knock on the door, it changes your whole life."

The backstory:

At 28, Lance Cpl. Hinds died after drowning off the North Carolina coast while stationed at Camp Lejeune. He first enlisted in the Army in 2011, deploying to Afghanistan on his birthday. After time in the reserves and with the Arizona Department of Corrections, he later re-enlisted, but this time with the Marines— the place he was destined to be.

"He was a Marine, he was a Marine, he was a Marine... Semper Fi," Hinds said.

Timeline:

Since his passing, his mother has carried on her son’s mission. Two years ago, she became president of the Arizona chapter, which supports families who have lost a son or daughter in military service while also serving the community, including making this quilt for veterans in hospice care.

"It’s handwritten right here, ‘Thank you for your service,’" Hinds said.

Seven years later, the pain is still there. Patricia says there are some days she wakes up waiting for his call, but says the only way forward is to keep working, just as her son would have done.

"Because you can sit and say, 'Woe is me,' but when you have a group of women that say, 'No, we're not doing that today. We have people over here that need food. We have people over here that need clothing,'" Hinds said.

Big picture view:

On this Memorial Day weekend, Hinds says her son, like so many others, is a reminder of the sacrifice made for freedom, and the families left to carry it forward.

"Justin Andrew Hinds, say his name. Service member, Marine, and it puts a little spark in you. Even though it hurts, it puts a spark. This was the thing that he wanted to do was to serve his country, and he served proudly. So I have to continue to serve proudly," Hinds said.

The Gold Star Mothers also volunteer in VA hospitals, provide essentials for homeless and in-need veterans, and help supply school items for children of active-duty and Gold Star families.

Hinds and her husband plan to honor her son at the National Memorial Cemetery in Arizona on May 25, where Lance Cpl. Hinds i buried.