This morning I watched the parents of a soldier stand tall, with heads held high and tears streaming down their faces as their son was brought home in a casket with the United States flag draped over it. As I saluted, for a split second I hated everything that flag stood for. Why? Because it could have been my son. I thought about the soldier's parents and what they were going through and the things they still had to go through. I took them through the steps of what was going to be done and what needed to be done. He was the strong one, she could barely stand. As I looked at her I saw her age, I saw her die inside. She looked at me and whispered, "I want to go with him." She has two other children but she wasn't thinking about them at that moment. She just wanted to be with her child, she wanted him back. She broke down after that, and instead of turning to her husband, she turned to me. I am a mother and I am the mother of a soldier and I am a soldier. She turned to me because I would understand as a mother what it would be like to lose a child even though I haven't. I'm not trying to belittle a father's feelings, but a mother would feel differenly. I wanted to post this soldier's name so that he could be prayed for by name but that didn't seem right and his parents have asked me not to. So I ask those of you who pray, to pray for all the the soldiers. And for any soldier out there reading this, God Bless You and call your mother and tell her you love her.
soldier
