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BEHIND THE STRIPES

The Bost Family

By Atlanta United FC

May 25^th, 2020

For most people, today might mean a day at the lake with your family and a day off from work and constant emails. A day grilling hotdogs and hamburgers after dipping your toes in the pool.

But, for Joe, Kathleen and nine-year old Jacob Bost, it doesn’t mean any of those things. It means a lot more to their family. Today, they honor and remember their Airman, Stephen Bost.

“Memorial Day definitely has a different meaning,” Joe Bost said with sentiment.

Their son Stephen joined the AirForce as a young adult. Though Joe and Kathleen didn’t serve, many in their family did.

“I would’ve been drafted after high school,” Joe explained. “The draft was held, but they didn’t draft us because the war ended.”

When Joe and Kathleen’s son decided to serve, they thought it was awesome and a great thing for him to do. Stephen joined straight out of high school and headed to San Antonio, Texas, for basic training followed by tech training in Port Hueneme, California. After his training, he was stationed at Moody AirForce Base in Valdosta, Georgia — close to family.

During his time serving, Stephen was deployed to Iraq in 2011 during the Iraqi Freedom War. Shortly after he returned, he achieved the rank of Airman First Class in 2012. Soon after, he passed away just shy of his son Jacob’s first birthday.

Now, Joe, Kathleen, Jacob and the rest of his family carry his spirit and legacy on forever.

One special passion Jacob carries with him everyday from Stephen is his athletic abilities. Jacob fell in love with the beautiful game of soccer. He enjoys every moment he steps on the pitch. At five years old, he scored five goals in his first game; it shocked Joe and Kathleen.

“Coaches have always asked him where he learned how to do this,” Kathleen explained. “He just goes in the front yard and practices kicking the ball as hard as he can into the goal.”

As Jacob started his soccer career, Atlanta United did as well. Joe started watching matches because of Jacob’s love and success on the pitch.

“I was like, wow, I may need to know something about this for later on,” Joe said with excitement. “Growing up, we didn't play soccer when I was in school. I’d never seen a soccer game in my life. I saw Miggy and the team and thought this was pretty exciting. That’s how I got into Atlanta United.”

Just like ATL UTD’s striker Josef Martinez, Jacob has scored many goals himself in his short time on the pitch. He’s scored 92 goals in just three seasons thus far. One of those seasons, he wasn’t even playing up top.

“I started playing defense,” Jacob shared. “After I scored, I started playing up top.”

Last year, Jacob had an opportunity of a lifetime and attended our military match at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Jacob even escorted a player onto the pitch.

Before the match, someone from TAPS asked Jacob who he’d like to escort. Jacob requested his favorite player, Josef Martinez, but they couldn’t promise him the striker. Jacob told his grandfather and grandmother he needed to escort Josef. They asked him why.

“He told me ‘I should get Josef because I scored more goals than Josef in two years. I think I should get him, and I need to talk to him, so I can teach him some pointers and tips,’” Joe said with a chuckle.

As the kids started to line up before the match, Joe and Kathleen saw he was on the Atlanta side, but not only that, he was the last one in line.

Many 17s know what that means.

“You start seeing players file in, file in, and finally Josef comes, and Jake looks at me like wow,” Joe said with a smile.

Josef greeted him with a hello. The team later won the match which was the icing on the cake for the Bost family.

Atlanta United means fun, smiles and activity to Kathleen. For Joe, it means unity.

“It feels like I belong,” Joe shared with admiration. “I know I’m not the biggest fan or I don’t know enough, but I cannot say I feel the same about my other teams. In my life, Atlanta United has become my everyday routine. I listen to podcasts. I watch everything. I get all the tweet notifications, and I watch all the videos and snippets— everything Atlanta United. I’ve immersed myself. I’ve pulled Jake in a little bit with me.”

Through TAPS, the family has been connected with not only the Atlanta United family, but our family at the Atlanta Falcons as well. They’ve been to training camps and games where they met Grady Jarrett, Dan Quinn and others on the team.

“It’s given Jake exposure to a lot of things that he never would’ve been able to do,” Joe said with gratitude. “It’s given me a sense of pride for what Stephen did. TAPS really cares.”

Beside TAPS, the AirForce family has never left their side either. When Stephen was in the hospital, people started to come visit him and even Stephen's lieutenant and first sergeant were there, too.

“We got there at like 8:30 a.m. and they never left our side,” Joe said with appreciation. “The whole day they helped with whatever we needed. As the hours went by people just showed up, random people we didn’t know showed up.”

Kathleen chimed in, “Even the security gate guard showed up to the hospital. The AirForce is just a big family.”

At the funeral, they continued to meet more and more people. Over a hundred people from Moody AirForce base were there. One of his fellow Airmen drove from his vacation in Helen, Georgia, with his wife on his leave to support the family in the hospital, to support Joe and Kathleen.

“He drove all the way,” Joe said with misty eyes. “I said you didn’t need to do that. He said I had to. That changed my perspective on the family the military is. You aren’t a number or one of a group. When you work on trucks, it’s a lot deeper than that.”

As they celebrate Memorial Day with their son and father in mind, the Bosts usually visit the cemetery and have a luncheon to honor those who’ve passed and hear from fellow veterans and pay their respects.

“It changed the meaning of Memorial Day for me and Kathleen, and maybe even more for me because now, I can appreciate the sacrifice that these young men and women make for us,” Joe proclaimed with love.

While Joe and Kathleen are raising their grandson, they are constantly reminded of the son they lost.

“Sometimes, it’s hard not to call him Stephen,” Joe said with a smile. “You catch yourself calling him Stephen, and he will just look at you. There are days when he looks a lot like him and acts a lot like him, too.”

Those similarities between Stephen and Jacob add more significance to this Monday off work. For Joe and Kathleen, the sparks of joy and happiness of their Airman lives on in Jacob.

From all of us at ATL UTD, we are thankful for all who have fought in our Armed Forces to fight for our freedom. Our thoughts are with all the families who have lost loved ones today on this Memorial Day.

TAPS is now sharing their collection of online resources to help first responders, healthcare workers and all of our fellow citizens who have been affected by isolation, fear and loss associated with COVID-19. Please visit for more info: TAPS.org/COVID/Together

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