A SOLDIER'S LEGACY ON THE FIELD, ONLINE
- Peter Rodick
- Oct 30
- 2 min read
On November 3, 2023, U.S. Army Chief Warrant Officer 3 Steve Dwyer and four crewmates died in a training exercise when their Blackhawk helicopter crashed into the Mediterranean Sea. He left behind a wife, three sons and, now, a legacy that will help countless families process grief in a constructive way.
When DWYERFIRE Goldstar Foundation approached us, they were in their infancy. The founders—Steve’s family and friends—wanted to build something to honor his memory. But to be worth building, it had to be distinctly Steve.
AN ATHLETE’S FOCUS
They zeroed in on Steve’s zeal for sports and fitness, which he imparted to his sons. It wasn’t uncommon to find his boys hanging from the pull-up bar in the family garage under Steve’s watchful eye, and Steve was a fixture on the sidelines any time they took the field. To Steve, the lessons his boys learned on the field, court or gym would pay dividends in the classroom, office—or wherever they might someday find themselves.
What Steve didn’t know was that after his passing, sports would provide a critical outlet for his boys. Not merely a distraction, but a forum to experience emotions and learn to channel them in a productive way. A place where they could be kids—have fun, get mad, burn off energy, goof off with friends, strike out, celebrate a touchdown and go out for ice cream after the game.
This insight became DWYERFIRE’s mission: to assist Gold Star families—those who have made the ultimate sacrifice—by ensuring their children have unfettered access to sports and fitness activities. DWYERFIRE covers the cost of equipment and league fees. In some areas, they even organize cheering sections at sporting events and offer free training.
Many in the business and armed forces communities were quick to pledge their support. ESPN ran a profile on Steve during the Army/Navy game in 2023. But before DWYERFIRE could translate to a groundswell of support into a coordinated fundraising campaign, they knew a robust web presence was important to legitimize their efforts in the eyes of would-be donors.
FIRST THING’S FIRST
Darling audited the existing DWYERFIRE site, offered UX and messaging recommendations and began to reimagine their web presence—first as a sitemap, then as wireframes. The new structure would provide their audiences (donors and Gold Star Families) with intuitive, friction-free paths to the content most relevant to them.
DESIGN & DEPLOYMENT
With a roadmap in place, we wrote, designed and built a site that could grow with DWYERFIRE’s honorable ambitions. We aimed to imbue it with production value to reinforce their status as a viable, vibrant organization worthy of donor support. We wanted to offer grieving families a crucial outlet. And, of course, we wanted to honor Steve, his sacrifice and his family.
Thank you, DWYERFIRE, for the opportunity to support your mission. It’s an honor.
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