I remember his voice, his soft touch, and the way he use to smile. I can’t believe it has been a year since he has passed. The pain and agony I feel, I try to silence it out. He was a man of strength, adversity, honor, courage, and integrity. He wasn’t just a part of a strong team, he was a part of my heart and soul. I hate that I had to leave him behind in the dangerous territories of unknown foreign land. He was my everything but my life was empty without him. Goodbye My Soldier, as we lay you to rest with your determined pride and the beauty of the American flag flowing through the wind.

I still envision him calling out to me from a far with his heavenly smile always smiling back at me. Our history together was fairly familiar and strange, he was my friend who changed to my mentor becoming more than leaving a soldier behind. When the war started he kept our family together even though he was a thousand miles away from home. Nobody else had my back like he had mines and I had his. He had five children back at home in the states staying with their spouses and children. I couldn’t see or believe this.

This is the final journey of his tour serving as a soldier. How I felt hurt, abandoned, and alone when I returned home and my family asked me, when was their love one coming home? My heart shattered into a billion pieces with a single tear rolling down my cheek. My family feeling lost, hurt, alone, and confused. The time at home seemed like a dream as I envisioned him walking through the door and leaping into my arms. He left the Army behind as he gave his life to protect. Leaving a Soldier Behind who was more than serving his country. He was a son, father, brother, and grandfather. He just wasn’t apart of their team, he was a part of our family.