UPDATE: After two years of searching and vowing to never give up, Theresa Johnson traveled thousands of miles to hand deliver a keepsake to the family of a fallen soldier.
"When I opened it and presented it, they just really held on to it like it was a piece of him," said Theresa.
Traveling to the tiny island of Kosrae, a dot on the map between Hawaii and Guam, Theresa met with the parents of Sgt. Sapuro Nena who had been killed in Afghanistan back in 2012. During a gathering, she was able to present them with a saber that had been dedicated to Sgt Nena after his death.
"It was such a heart felt weight lifted to say, I've carried this to make sure it got to you and now it's home," said Theresa.
It was an emotional day both will cherish for a life time. "Receiving the saber was like holding him again," cried Maryann Nena, Sapuro's mother. "I was proud of him."
FORT HOOD - It's been two years in the making, and her labor of love is about to come full circle. In just three days Theresa Johnson will hop on a flight and travel to a tiny island to complete an emotional journey that began in 2013.
"My mission as soon as I saw it was I had to give it to his mother," said Theresa.
That "it" was a saber donated to Theresa for her boot display where thousands of fallen service members are honored. The saber, although near to her heart, was not hers to keep. And she knew it. "It's always been meant to go home," she said.
Inscribed on the saber was the name "Sgt Sapuro Nena". His unit had the saber specially made when Nena was killed in Afghanistan two weeks after his 25th birthday. Theresa says for some reason his wife did not want it, so the saber was donated to her display honoring the fallen. For two years she searched for Nena's parents... but no luck.
It wasn't until she moved to Fort Hood, bringing the display with her that she got a bite. "Immediately someone's mom messaged me and said my son was best friends with Sgt Nena," she said.
The puzzle pieces began falling into place. She learned Nena's mother's name, and through Facebook made contact with his family... thousands of miles away on the tiny island of Kosrae between Guam and Hawaii.
"We as moms really want to meet," said Theresa. And that wish is about to happen. With the Saber in one hand and a personalized painting of Nena in the other, Theresa will board a plane in Killeen on Thursday and head to the island. "It will be life changing for me, and life changing for her," she said.
It's a two year journey that will finally come to end, as another journey begins.
Theresa has a GoFund me page to help pay for the expenses of the flight. If you would like to help her on her journey (click here).
