Never Coming Back

One of the first Monday Messages I ever wrote was just before Memorial Day in 2007. It was 17 years ago, but the message is still just as profound and important today. God bless our servicemen and women, and their families who sacrifice so much for the rest of us!

 

May 28th, 2007

Monday Message #21 – Never Coming Back

I live in a very nice home located in a gated community. I wear nice clothes, drive a nice car, and have a wonderful family including my four children and three grandchildren. My friend, Bill, has a life that is pretty much the same. He is a Senior Vice President at Vineyard Bank, lives in a beautiful neighborhood, drives a nice car, and has a wonderful family as well, including his two beloved sons.

Except there is one difference between us. I have two sons and two daughters and Bill only has two sons. And there is one other difference. Three years ago Bill’s oldest son, Justin, joined the Army and at age 21 went off to fight in the war in Iraq. But Justin didn’t come back… and he is never coming back!

The good news is that Bill has another son, Cameron, his baby. Cameron is a good young man, but he hasn’t been the same since his brother died. I gave Cameron a job working for my company, and he worked hard. But his heart wasn’t in it and he quit two weeks ago. Cameron always looked up to his big brother, loved his big brother, and admired his big brother. Bill says Cameron decided to follow in his brother’s footsteps and just completed basic training. He will be shipping out to Iraq shortly. I couldn’t believe it at first. I saw the pain in Bill’s eyes and heard the crack in his voice when he told me he his son had been killed. His suffering was so severe and so transparent, I could taste it. And now he is watching his baby, his only other child, go off to war again. I don’t ask why… I just offer my support.

My grandfather was a Major in the USMC, and my father served as a Captain in the USMC, so I support our military and all they stand for. I understand the need to defend our country and to defend the world from terrorism. But the one thing I don’t understand, because it hasn’t happened to me, is what it feels like to lose a child, to lose a loved one in a war. And that got me thinking…

 If everyone single person on earth understood what it’s like to have a child killed in war,

then perhaps there wouldn’t be any more wars!