How three women are turning the grief of losing loved ones in war into action

A small group of women are turning the loss of a loved one in war, into action. The Travis Manion Foundation keeps the memories of fallen troops alive by bringing their stories to communities across the country. It has empowered more than 60,000 veterans and families over the last decade.

CBS News' Jan Crawford spoke with three of the foundation's leaders including Heather Kelly, the daughter-in-law of White House Chief of Staff John Kelly, who opened up about the loss of her husband.

From their first days at the Naval Academy, Travis Manion and Brendan Looney stood together. So it seemed only fitting that in the end that they would rest together. President Obama even paid tribute to their friendship as an example of America's best. In their family's shared loss, Brendan's wife Amy and Travis's sister Ryan also found a new beginning.
 
"You get to this point that it's like, 'What comes next?' Ryan Manion said.

"Brendan's mantra that he lived by was: 'Be strong, be accountable, and never complain.' And that's something….You can be faced with challenges, but it's really about what are you gonna do," Amy said. 

Heather Kelly lost her husband 1st Lt. Robert Kelly in Afghanistan.
 
"I think sometimes it still kinda feels like it's happened to another person," Heather said. "It's hard to believe that this is Rob and I's story."

Despite the pain of his loss, Heather said she's at peace knowing Robert wouldn't have wanted to do anything else. That's a sentiment shared by Robert's father, Ret. Gen. John Kelly, who now serves as White House Chief of Staff.
 
"He knew what he was getting into by joining that one percent….When he died he was surrounded by the best men on this earth, his friends," Kelly said last October during a White House briefing on President Trump's phone call to the widow of a slain soldier.

The mention of her husband's death became news – and came as a surprise to Heather.

"But I trust my father-in-law 100 percent and I know he holds Robert's memory close," she said. "Sometimes the way it's focused is hard. But just in general, if, you know, people are saying Robert's name and remembering what he did, I'm happy that his memory lives on in that way."

Ryan, Amy and Heather know there are many other families who face the same loss.

"I would say to them that you're suffering probably, arguably, the most horrible thing that will ever happen to you. But there is a light ahead," Ryan said.

For these women that light was the Travis Manion Foundation, named for Ryan's brother and inspired by one simple phrase.
 
"We all asked ourselves, 'if not me, then who?'" Ryan said. "Those were the five words that my brother spoke before he left for his second deployment."
 
The foundation uses those words to bring together veterans and their families with hundreds of thousands of civilians across the country. Those volunteers go on to serve in different ways from cleaning up communities in the U.S. to building houses in underdeveloped countries or simply sharing the importance of character with millions of school-age children growing up without a positive role model.

"It's not only beneficial to the communities that are receiving that impact through the work that we do, but it's also beneficial to that Gold Star family member or that veteran that's getting out of the military and wants to feel that sense of camaraderie and service and purpose and meaning again," Amy said. 
    

The foundation has also shown these women sides of themselves they never imagined. All three wish their loved ones could see them now.

"All of us, in very different ways, have been pushed outside of our comfort zone," Ryan said.

Later this month, the Manion Foundation kicks off a 10-day service project called Operation Legacy with volunteer opportunities across the country inspired by the legacy of a fallen service member.