In 1998, two HH-60G rescue helicopters experienced a tragic mid-air collision during a night training mission on the Nellis AFB, NV range complex. This catastrophic accident resulted in the deaths of twelve (12) airmen, leaving eight (8) children behind. In the aftermath of this tragedy, a fund was started at a local Las Vegas bank to accept donations for the children of these brave airmen. Not long afterward, in 1999, another Nellis AFB rescue airman was killed in the line of duty while on deployment to Operation Southern Watch, and another fund was initiated to assist his two young sons.

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The founders of these two independent assistance funds soon realized that they could be more effective if they combined their efforts. In that process, they also recognized that there was a much greater need than those few children and decided to pool their resources and expand their efforts to provide for the children of any Air Force rescue personnel who were killed executing the Air Force rescue mission from the Khobar Towers terrorist attack in 1996 and onward. In May 2002, the That Others May Live Foundation (TOMLF) was officially founded and has continued to support the families of USAF rescue heroes since.

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Over time, the number of beneficiary children has grown from the original eight (8) to a current roll of over thirty (30) known children in need of post-secondary educational funding. Following the tragic shoot down of an HH-60G in Afghanistan in June 2010, TOMLF decided to expand its mission again and provide immediate tragedy assistance for the families of USAF rescue Airmen who are killed or severely injured in combat. As of November 2014, the TOMLF has provided college assistance for ten (10) children, immediate tragedy assistance funds for twenty-three (23) families of killed or injured Airmen, and continues holding warfighter appreciation events at Air Force bases with rescue personnel.