Remembering a hero: The Aston Goodman Benefit Dinner Published Aug. 18, 2010 By Airman 1st Class Matthew Hubby 436th Airlift Wing Public Affairs DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, Del. -- Heroes are those whose actions show through as going above and beyond the call of duty. Heroes don't worry about themselves; they only focus on those they can help. Heroes seek to right whatever wrongs they see. One such hero was Senior Airman Aston Goodman, stationed at Pope Air Force Base, N.C. Airman Goodman deployed with Panjshir Provincial Reconstruction Team as both a vehicle operator and woman's affairs. She was killed by a roadside bomb May 26, 2009, and her death has resonated at Dover Air Force Base. "I worked with Airman Goodman at Pope for two years," said Pamela Cordial-DePass, 436th Logistics Readiness Squadron vehicle operator. "She was a wonderful person, a humanitarian in every sense of the word. She loved to help people, and wanted to be a veterinarian." "She was a really special person," said Master Sgt. Clarence DePass, 436th LRS vehicle operations superintendant. "She said she fought with words, not weapons, and she was planning on volunteering on the next assignment she could to Africa to try and continue her work there." "Her goal was to establish programs to help educate women in Afghanistan, and we are going to carry on her goal in her honor." Mrs. Cordial-DePass said. The Afghan Women's Writing Project, a program that gives Afghani women the ability to write about their lives and the trials that shaped them, has put forward a grant in honor of Airman Goodman. In order to help fund the grant the program is sponsoring a benefit dinner August 27, from 7 p.m. to midnight at the Delaware Veterans post number 2. The Benefit Dinner is the first being held for Airman Goodman, but not the last. "We plan on making this a yearly benefit dinner in honor of Airman Goodman with all proceeds going to the Afghan Women Writing Project's Aston Goodman Grant," said Mrs. Cordial-DePass. "The grant will be given to American educators who create programs for Afghan women so they can further their education, either online, or face-to-face with the educators in Afghanistan." Dinner tickets cost $25 per person, or $40 for couples. Dinner includes an all you can drink draft, but mixed drinks will be sold separately. There will be a DJ, music, dancing and a silent auction. "This is the first of many grants for Airman Goodman," said Mrs. Cordial-DePass. "There are plans to establish the Aston Goodman foundation with funds for homeless veterans and another to help animals." For more information on the Aston Goodman Benefit dinner, or to purchase a ticket contact: Pamela Cordial-DePass at 302-387-9901 or 302-747-7297, Al Mercier at 302-242-8685 and Ken Lefebvre at 302-233-5550. "It is hard to do Airman Goodman justice," said Sergeant DePass. "She did more than her fair share to change the world and change lives. She believed in the goodness of the world, and it is up to us to do that in her honor and make things better."