Memorial Day 2007 was a special day for me personally. I woke up that morning with a mission and knew what I had to do that day. There were a couple special events that I had to do on that day. It was special to me because I was home and was not in Afghanistan. Last memorial day I was in Afghanistan, and honestly don’t even really remember what I did that day. I do know that it wasn’t but a few days after Memorial Day 2006 when some of my guys got into their first ambush and firefight with the enemy. That part I do remember for sure about last year.

So Memorial Day this year I got up, watched Hunter as he watched cartoons, drank my coffee and read the paper. After getting showered and dressed, Christine, Jon, and I left to take a trip to the south-towns. I had to visit some special soldiers of mine on this day. This day is meant for them and many others I know whom never returned home to hug their families. After stopping to pick up some flowers, we went to visit the Holy Cross cemetery to spend some time with SGT David Routsum. He was my soldier that I lost on November 20th, 2004 in Iraq. Dave was a special soldier and a special man and he is one I will never forget. I carry his name on a bracelet which I wore every day in Afghanistan and I don’t think I ever took it off. After I spent some private time with Dave, Christine and Jon joined me so we could put flowers on his gravesite and spend some more time with him.

From Dave’s site I went to a gravesite that I had not seen yet. PFC Ben Schuster was another soldier of mine killed in Iraq, and unfortunately it happened after I mobilized and deployed. I was never able to attend his funeral, so I had never been to his gravesite before. Ben is located in the Veteran’s section of a large cemetery in Buffalo that Christine and Jordan go to every year in order to put flags on Veteran’s graves. His grave marker really stands out and looks nice. His family did a good job on it and it was very moving to spend some time with him and catch up in addition to finally say goodbye.

After spending some time with my soldiers we drove home and on the way home many other soldier’s names that I know slipped into my head. Soldiers that have also never come home. Some were friends of mine that I lost in Desert Storm, some have been lost in wars since and of course there are those that have died since 9/11. I also thought of those vets that have not necessarily dropped in combat but served their country nevertheless. People like my best friend, SFC (ret) Lou Legier who was killed several years ago on a motorcycle which robbed many in this world of a great man. I also thought of my Uncle Corky who just passed the week before, or of Mouse’s mom who spent over 20 years in the US Army Reserves. To me this day is all about doing exactly this. Remembering those that fought for this country, those that made the ultimate sacrifice, remembering those that will never walk off a plane and into the arms of their loved ones. It is not about having a day off from work, sales at Sears or Home Depot, or a reason to sleep in. I wish more people would remember that and maybe just go to a local cemetery and walk through the headstones of vets that have fallen.

After returning home, I sat down with my family and enjoyed a nice dinner together. After dinner I gave Jon and Jordan a coming home present that Christine and I decided to get for them before I got home. I took them to a concert by a group called Fall Out Boy. It was a great concert and we got to go there with Face. Face drove across the state to join up with us and we all went together. It was a time that my boys and I could spend together, bonding and enjoying a good show. We got home late that night and as I lay in bed with ringing ears, I reverted back to where I was earlier in the day, thinking of real heroes. All of those faces and names kept going through my head and I could not get rid of them. So that was how my Memorial Day ended, with names I will never call out again in person and with faces that only live in my memories.

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