BROTHERS IN ARMS

BROTHERS IN ARMS

My care package effort over the last eleven years has brought a wide range of emotions and events, as you may have read in some of my previous writings.   This is one unusual story that started with care packages shipped to 2nd Battalion, 8th Marines, a unit I have supported since the onset of the Iraq conflict.   However, this takes place in 2009-2010.   My contact was their chaplain, Terry Roberts, a chaplain I wrote about in a previous article and whom I met when he visited my sister's home in NC.

I receive email notices from the DoD (Department of Defense) regarding news involving our troops deployed, which also includes death notices.   Friends have asked why I signed up for these notices and my explanation is that if one of the Marines or Sailors in units I support is killed in action, I want to express my condolences to their families.   I want their families to know that there are folks unrelated to their loved one's unit who share their burden by offering prayer and support.

On August 7, 2009 Lcpl. Dennis Burrow of 2/8 was killed in action in Afghanistan.   The notice appeared in my email and it broke my heart.  Dennis was from my neck of the woods although I did not know him personally.   I sent a card to his mother and planned to attend the funeral later that month on August 24.   Dennis' funeral was my first experience with the incredible and dedicated Patriot Guard Riders (PGR), who stand guard and protect the families of the fallen from atrocities like the Westboro Baptist Church, a group that defames and insults the families of the fallen for misguided reasons.  The members of the PGR lined the sidewalk to the church, and as I made my way inside I shook the hands of each of them and wept in gratitude for their patriotism and respect for our fallen warriors.   By the time I reached my seat I was already an emotional wreck!

The service included eulogies from friends and family.   One family member was Dennis' brother Chris, home on leave from the US Army and deploying shortly afterward to Afghanistan himself.   He could have chosen not to deploy but he felt strongly regarding  his commitment to fighting for our country and also for the memory of his fallen brother.   There were words of humor and of sadness, laughs and tears, but a sense of closeness for all who attended this memorial service.

After some time passed I called Dennis' Mom, Daryl, to see how she was doing.   We chatted about our lives, hers in nursing and mine in retail jewelry.   As it happened Chris had purchased a diamond prior to his deployment to present to his girlfriend when he returned on leave from Afghanistan, but the diamond needed a setting.   I suggested she stop in and visit the store, which she did soon after our phone call.   Chris had sent his Mom  a photograph of the setting he and his fiance had hoped to find and I had one that was almost identical to the photo.   We set the diamond in the mounting so it was ready for him to propose while on a cruise with his family when he returned home.    It meant so much to me to have the opportunity to be a tiny part of their marriage plans.

Often Chris and his fiance would stop in the store to say hello after his deployment was completed.   They kept me abreast of their wedding plans and continued to visit when in the area.   Now that I am retired I have sadly lost contact with many of these dear young people whose lives have impacted mine in such unusual ways.   I give thanks to God for His Holy Spirit moving me in all walks of my life.    When a family loses someone it is difficult to see beyond their  grief, but sometimes there is a glimmer of hope that happiness can exist in the midst of their sorrow.