A Tribute

The greatest kind of love one can give is their life for another human being. This love, an act of unselfishness, once such young boy whom I knew since he was a young boy, who had the dream of a lifetime to become a soldier. Many nights we spent looking at the moon and staring at the stars. Thinking and talking, pondering the trip to Iraq, in his fatigues looking trim and fit, smart, proud to be an American, he made E5 Sargent in a matter of two years, having his own unit at 20 years of age. His family strong his mother so loving and his step father so loving, his brother and sister now torn to pieces, the family crushed and separated they have not spoken to each other since the death of their loved one. The sister took it the hardest they all did. For one moment I could not believe that he was gone. His whole life was so happy he wanted to become a special forces soldier. He wanted to go to school and live in Korea and find a wife and have a family.

We had missions planed things that we were going to do. He loved to play on that X-Box thing. He had a few games and I got to watch him play them this young man with military fatigues sitting in the bedroom and into this X-Box game. When he spoke he talked of his carrier, his life in the Military of course me being curious I tried to get the mission information from him thinking I could be trusted, he would not even tell me, he would give me hints but that was all.

I got to know this young man a hero to me, I cannot really go a day without remembering him. He was a quiet boy even growing up, he was handsome and well kept. He loved America his country that is all that he talked about that he was glad that the Iraqi children were going to be free someday to play and run free in a democratic society like ours. The smiles on their faces when they got goodies from the soldiers, or a smile in return on the trip to base from the people on the roadside from these men, women and children. That was what it was about for him. He loved being a part of that, he loved taking the tormentors away removing them as he was doing his duty for them and for his country it did not matter about the politics, he never spoke an unkind word about the President or shared a opinion about the government that meant so much to him. He was there for the people the innocent ones. He was there to bring peace at the cost of his life. To save someone else from torture and torment. No politics, nothing but freedom to set them free.