Tears . . .

Memorial Day

by Gregory D.  5/28/12

Tears, they fall from my eyes.  They hit me like a hammer hitting a nail: strong and unrelenting.  I don't know why; I never know why; the moments just come.  The thoughts of my fallen brothers overcomes me in a fraction of a second.  The suddenness of it all always catches me off guard.  It happens when I'm driving, at the gym, or holding my son.  My fallen brothers and sisters in arms, they are who I live every day for.  They are the reason I will always stand against the evil that has beset this country from the inside and the outside.

Tears, they are always overwhelming. Even for those I never met. But the moment I think of the six men that I knew who gave up everything they knew so you and I could stand here today free is totally overwhelming. Knowing and seeing the things I saw in Iraq have changed my life. They changed who I am and what I am about. The men I will never see again have given me new strength to fight though whatever comes into my life. The men of Bayonet Company 2-69AR will always be my family. The family that I faced down the enemy with, we stood alongside one another and fought, lived, bled, cried, laughed, and died together.

Tears, they come when I think of the families of my fallen brothers. How could they not come streaming down my face? Now these young wives and even younger children are husband/fatherless.  Mothers and fathers have a son who has gone to the other side before them. The heartbreak that has overcome these people has to be a heavy weight they carry. And while these men are now angels that watch over their families we must come alongside them, stand with them, cry with them, and hold them up as the greatest among us. For without the loss of their loved ones we would not know freedom.

The sun races across the sky on this Memorial Day, I am more than ever aware of why this day means so much to me. I carry the burden of my brothers with me each day and every waking moment. I will never forget what they have given up.  And so this is why tears come on this day and other days like it.

Never Forget

I.D.W.I.C

13 HUGS

Our eldest son, Gregg, served in the U.S. Army for 4 1/2 years . . . serving 2 1/2 years in Iraq . . . willing to give his life in order to protect the freedoms that each of us take for granted every.single.day.

Our grandson, Noah William David D. was named after 3 of the men that gave their lives for our country.  They will never be forgotten.