The family of a local soldier killed in Afghanistan received a special show support on Tuesday from Local 10 and Publix Supermarkets.
The grocery store donated $500 in groceries to the widow of Army Spc. Gerardo Campos.
PHOTOS: Spc. Gerardo Campos
Campos was killed in action earlier this month during a firefight in Afghanistan. His death has left his 10-month-old daughter, Isabella, and his widow, Rubi Ramos Campos, 20, with an uncertain future. The pair is living with her parents, who have seven other children of their own.
"It's been very hard, but I have to be there to support my daughter because she's so young," said Esmeralda Ramos, the soldier's mother-in-law.
Gerardo Campos’ death touched many in South Florida, and Local 10 wanted to make a difference for this grieving family, so we reached out to our friends at Publix, which donated bags full of food, toys for the children and lots of diapers and baby wipes for little Isabella.
"It makes me want to cry because we've never had any help from anybody. I've always supported my kids. I've done it all by myself, so it does mean a lot to us," Ramos said.
It's a small token of gratitude for a family struggling to cope with the consequences of the ultimate sacrifice that their soldier made.
"It just shows that when something happens, everybody sticks together, and that's the way it should be," said Rubi Ramos Campos, the soldier’s widow.
Next week, the U.S. military will fly her and Campos’ family to his Army base outside Seattle, where fellow soldiers will have a ceremony to pay their last respects.