Let us never forget...
This is Memorial Day. A day set aside to honor and remember those who paid it all for our freedom. While I believe many thanks are due to our veterans, today is about the men and women who didn't make it home. It's a day to stand beside our veterans and honor their fallen comrades, and give our honor and respect to the families who have lost their loved one.
As a Blue Star Mother, I had the duty, honor and privilege of presenting Gold Star banners to the mothers of fallen soldiers at the memorial service honoring their child. It was one of the hardest things I've ever had to do.
A Blue Star Mother is a mother of a soldier. You have probably seen the banner hanging in someone's window, a red border around a field of white with a blue star representing each child that serves our country. I've seen as many as five stars on one banner.
When you see a gold star, that means their soldier paid the ultimate price. That's one gold star I will never covet. But I will forever honor and respect it.
My sister-in-law's family is a Gold Star Family. Her brother died in Iraq in 2005. Robert W Murray, Jr. was a hero. I'll never forget the day of his funeral. That was my first experience with a military funeral. It was hard to watch his family and wrap my brain around what they were feeling. My heart still aches for them.
I've attended the Blue Star Salute a few times and while we honor and celebrate our soldiers, there is
a special tent set up with rows of boots, weapons, and helmets belonging to fallen soldiers. A video plays above with the name, dates and a photo of each soldier in the state who has died in service to our country. The silence inside that tent is deafening.
The hardest part about loosing someone you love is watching the rest of the world go on as if nothing happened, so today we pause. We stop what we're doing and pay tribute to the heroes.
Be blessed.
As a Blue Star Mother, I had the duty, honor and privilege of presenting Gold Star banners to the mothers of fallen soldiers at the memorial service honoring their child. It was one of the hardest things I've ever had to do.
A Blue Star Mother is a mother of a soldier. You have probably seen the banner hanging in someone's window, a red border around a field of white with a blue star representing each child that serves our country. I've seen as many as five stars on one banner.
When you see a gold star, that means their soldier paid the ultimate price. That's one gold star I will never covet. But I will forever honor and respect it. My sister-in-law's family is a Gold Star Family. Her brother died in Iraq in 2005. Robert W Murray, Jr. was a hero. I'll never forget the day of his funeral. That was my first experience with a military funeral. It was hard to watch his family and wrap my brain around what they were feeling. My heart still aches for them.
I've attended the Blue Star Salute a few times and while we honor and celebrate our soldiers, there is a special tent set up with rows of boots, weapons, and helmets belonging to fallen soldiers. A video plays above with the name, dates and a photo of each soldier in the state who has died in service to our country. The silence inside that tent is deafening.
The hardest part about loosing someone you love is watching the rest of the world go on as if nothing happened, so today we pause. We stop what we're doing and pay tribute to the heroes.
"True heroism is remarkably sober, very undramatic. It is not the urge to surpass all others at whatever cost, but the urge to serve others at whatever cost." ~Arthur AsheIn a country that boasts about freedom, let us never forget that freedom isn't free. For some it cost everything they had to give.
Be blessed.
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