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Remembering a soldier again
By Betsy Richter | 7:20 am5/26/08: I wrote this two years ago. When I tried to write a similar post honoring Joey today, I realized I’d captured my feelings already with this post…so it’ll be front and center for a day or so.
Memorial Day used to signify nothing more than a three-day weekend to me. Sure, I understood why we got that extra day off – but the meaning had gotten buried under ‘gateway to summer!’ and ‘three day sales!’ and barbecues and picnics and parties and the like.
My worldview shifted dramatically two four years ago today, with the death of Army Specialist Joseph Jeffries in Afghanistan. Now, the Memorial Day holiday is a bittersweet one. The tears are bitter ones – anger at the loss of a father before he ever saw his son’s face, coupled with grief for this generation of parents now burying their children.
But it also serves as a reminder to me that I’m lucky enough to have my two children alive. And as I revisit Joe’s loss, I also remember the words his father said to me the night he found out he’d lost his son and best friend:
“I have no regrets – I told him everything I wanted to say to him.”
“There was nothing left unsaid.”
When my kids get home tonight from The Father’s, they’ll get an extra hug or two ‘from Joey.’ And I’ll remember to keep building the kind of relationship with my kids that Joe had with his father.
I can think of no better way to honor his memory.
Topics: I'm *Serious* Here, Joe Jeffries | 4 Comments »
May 29th, 2006 at 11:43 am
“Happy” Memorial Day?
I saw that title on a post I found (using the technorati link Alex references below) – and it crystallized for me just why I’m feeling so disconnected from the rest of the world this weekend. Memorial Day is not…
May 30th, 2006 at 4:07 am
Sometimes the most painful reminders teach us the most powerful lessons. Making the most of them, as it seems you do, is a wonderful thing!
May 30th, 2006 at 8:21 am
Boy howdy, it is nice to hear of a father who had left his son with that legacy.
May 29th, 2008 at 7:23 am
Today is a somber day for a lot of people who remember Joe. He was a great guy, and I, with a bunch of other great Oregonians, served with him in Afghanistan in 2004. Remembering you today and every day, Joe.