Memorial Day

My grandpa served in the military, many, many years ago. My father was spared the draft, because I was to be born soon, and he got a bye and didn't goto Vietnam. I don't have uncles or other close relatives that served in the military. I do have a strong desire to support and honor those that have served. I have often reflected on their continued service and protection of our way of life, and felt overwhelmed. I have a neighbor that served in Vietnam, in the motor pool He tells stories of the building next to his, where he slept, being destroyed by enemy fire. The entire building was leveled, while his stood unscathed. We call have stories that we can tell of people we know that served.
Today, as we stayed home from work, and before we went out to play on this vacation day, I logged into the internet and hit Facebook. I saw a couple posts from friends of mine, talking about another friend I went to school with. We were friends. This person, Jason George, was a year younger than me, and we hung in the same circles. After high school, he went on to Westpoint, and more and more education. I only recently reconnected with him over Facebook and we had a few interactions. It was nice to reconnect and see what life had brought him. A while after we reconnected, he was called up to serve again. He spent some time on Facebook trying to get his life here in order, before being sent out to his assignments in Iraq. In April, he arrived in Iraq, and on the 5th of May he arrived in Iraq. While doing foot patrol last week, he, along with 2 other soldiers and 25 Iraqi citizens were killed by a suicide bomber.
This I learned on the morning of Memorial Day. I honor his memory. I will always think of him when I see someone wearing shorts and a sweater. Certain things will always remind me of him, even though we had lost contact these past few years. He bettered himself, and worked hard to gain skills and knowledge. He used this in his professional life as well as his time in the military. He selflessly went over there to assist in the rebuilding of their economy. He hoped to use his skills and knowledge to make it a better place. He put on a soldiers uniform, and tried to make the world a better place. He died doing this. I will always remember him, and especially on this holiday, Memorial Day.

Read his story here.