Memorial for a Hero

This Memorial Day has a new meaning. We just left a funeral service for my son’s friend, a fine 22 year old Marine, who was killed in Afghanistan on April 28, 2010. For one so young and so well loved, it was somehow comforting to see the huge crowd of mourners, the many other Marines in their “dress blues” and the throngs of freedom riders forming a patriotic parade. The sounds of a full military funeral, complete with a twenty-one gun salute, a fly-over of WWII planes and the rip-your-heart-out emotional rendition of “Taps,” play over and over in my mind.

I cannot wrap my head around the loss his parents feel, even though I imagine that is the cost you have to count. So my new understanding of what it means when I hear news of the “numbers” lost on the battlefield is this: a young son of very proud and constantly worried parents has just been lost, everyone in his universe has made a huge sacrifice for the good of many who may not ever know or care, and a true hero has been laid to rest.

Memorial Day will never be the same for us. For our E-Mealz members and visitors who have counted this cost and understand this all too well, we salute you and stand with you with pride and appreciation.

In honor of Marine Lance Corporal Thomas Rivers, Jr.
Psalm 91:1 “He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.”