i’ll always remember this as the year that Memorial Day took on a whole new meaning for me.
the year that it hit home what this day really means.
the year that marks the divide.
last year i was not the same person i am now.
i won’t ever look at Memorial Day the same way.
you see, i used to look at this day as just a holiday.
maybe a day to go to the lake. or have a picnic. or a day to do nothing.
i dare say that years ago i may have looked at this day just like any other day.
then i met jimmy and i started to look at it differently.
but it still was only on the surface.
i said things like “support the troops” or “hug a soldier”
but they were just things i SAID. not that i didn’t mean them, but it was still just another holiday. i wasn’t living the life i am now.
this year, this is what Memorial Day means to me.
SSG David Paquet – Aug 20, 2008
SPC Marques Knight – Sep 06, 2008
PFC Michael Dinterman – Sep 06, 2008
SSG Nathan Cox – Sep 20, 2008
PFC Joseph Gonzales – Sep 20, 2008
SGT John Penich – Oct 16, 2008
SPC Ezra Dawson – Jan 17, 2009
PFC Richard Dewater – Apr 15, 2009
PFC Michael Dinterman – Sep 06, 2008
SSG Nathan Cox – Sep 20, 2008
PFC Joseph Gonzales – Sep 20, 2008
SGT John Penich – Oct 16, 2008
SPC Ezra Dawson – Jan 17, 2009
PFC Richard Dewater – Apr 15, 2009
these are the names of the men my husband and his company lost this past year. the men our country lost. they leave behind moms and dads,
wives, siblings, and in nathan’s case, a little girl.
these are the men, the boys
that will not be getting of that airplane in a few weeks.
they will not be coming home.
they made the ultimate sacrifice for US.
i will always remember these men.
and i will never look at Memorial Day as “just a picnic”.
i will always be reflective, and grateful, and heartbroken for their families.
and in awe of the men and women that CHOOSE to do this on a daily basis.
i hope you all have a beautiful Memorial Day.
s