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All Gave Some, Some Gave AllDedicated to the Memory of my son, SSG Justin L Vasquez 10月5日 "Mike's" MemorialA memorial with bag pipes, Native American dancers, the playing of Taps, and a presentation of the flag . . . . “All that for a horse?” I was asked. No, it wasn’t all for a “horse”. It was for Mike. Family and friends gathered on Sunday, September 17 to remember and pay tribute to Mike who died at the age of 19. Mike was Lorraine “Rainy” Melgosa’s loyal partner and friend – a massive but graceful Percheron horse. Mike and “Rainy” were the team that made up Wellington Carriage of Manzanola. Mike was more than a horse to others which was obvious by the 150 or so people that gathered for his memorial. The crowd was adorned with American Flags and purple pins in honor of Mike. Mike was significant to me. A couple of Mike’s “firsts” were for my family. His very first funeral was for Isabel Vasquez – my uncle and his first funeral for a fallen soldier was for SSG Justin Vasquez - my brother. Mike escorted well over 500 loved ones and had recently been offering his services to our fallen military. Mike gave dignity and pride to those he escorted to their final resting place and that’s something that will never be forgotten. Rainy will continue Mike’s legacy with the help of “Lady.” “Lady” was a gift to Rainy by the Dietz family in memory of their son, Petty Officer 2nd Class Danny P. Dietz of Littleton. 9月16日 Johnson: Soldiers' little stories should be big onesJohnson: Soldiers' little stories should be big ones
August 23, 2006
Rocky Mountain News
Maybe it is old news - not the kind our weary, frustrated eyes and minds can handle anymore.
Oh, I think we still love death, still scramble to peek over the fences to catch a glimpse, but only when the dead is a young girl, killed horrifically nearly 10 years ago, who today still dances across our TV screens in make-up and dress-up as if she never left. In the next instant comes the flash of the little girl's supposed killer, all cozy in his business-class seat, pate and duck on the menu, mere hours away from the sack lunches and shackles that await him. We slurp it up. And incredibly, we beg for more. But my eyes move farther down the news page. These days, that's where I find the stories that grip me most. I am staring at one right now. His name was Chris Sitton. He was 21, an Army specialist and medic with the 10th Mountain Division, only three years removed from graduation at Montrose High. I didn't know him, but I know firsthand how he died. Only five months into his deployment to eastern Afghanistan, he was riding along in a supply convoy when the ground beneath his vehicle exploded. He probably died straight away. At least that is my prayer. His death likely won't make the evening news outside of Montrose. CNN and Fox won't plop a satellite truck outside his folks' home. They're too busy filming exteriors of a home in Boulder where the dead little girl's family hasn't lived in years. I noticed Chris Sitton's story. I notice them all, and with each one, pray a little bit. Honestly, it angers me some, maybe a lot. I am not a proponent of just pulling up stakes and getting out of Iraq. If you have ever walked the nasty streets of that awful place, you know it can only become much worse should we just up and leave. But what is the plan? Is there one for success? "Stay the course" doesn't seem viable when the reality is that our heavily armed young men and women leave their bases every morning virtually powerless to stop the ground beneath them from exploding. I have stood over the graves of some of the unlucky ones. I still hear from those who loved them. They write in some cases, I think, because I was among those who saw their sons alive after they did. Some have become strident anti-war activists, sending e-mail with stories plucked from anti-administration Web sites. Others detest the activism, in private conversations saying they would never entertain sullying their child's memory so. I take no sides. A parent will grieve the way he or she will. Chris Sitton was an Eagle Scout in Montrose, clearly a good kid likely eager to serve his country, to just do his bit. The services are full of such young people, my experience tells me. And not one of them, I know instinctively and from seeing it, ever tried to beg off that last deadly patrol. In the absence of an honest, workable plan, I grieve their passing even harder. Juan Polino, you see, just called. He leaves a message about once a month now. A sergeant in the 3rd Armored Cavalry when I met him in Iraq, he served two tours and knew 21 men who died there. He is now an Army National Guard recruiter in California. He has moved back in with his mother and father, both of whom once confided they did not expect him to return to them from Iraq. They call him every three hours or so now when he is not home. He still awakes at 4 a.m., he says, goes outside and does "PT," Army lingo for physical training. He thought it would be so great being back home, Juan Polino said, but in the months he has been back, it feels like anything but home. It is often just him and his memories. "My home is somewhere else," he says, almost whispering. "Everyone tells me how happy they are that I am back home, but I don't feel like this is home." So he is considering rejoining the regular Army. He speaks with other soldiers from his old unit every other day. They tell him, he says, that another deployment is not far away. In conversation, he can barely stomach the idea of them going without him. What of the multiple roadside bombs, the insurgent firefights he survived, I ask him. He says he doesn't care, that maybe that is what he is supposed to be doing. "Every day," he says, when I finally ask how often he thinks of those he knew who died. "Actually, very few moments pass when I don't think of them, especially Sgt. V (Staff Sgt. Justin Vasquez of Manzanola), of how many people's lives have changed and been devastated by his death." It is why, he said, he calls the man's mother at least every other day. Just to check in on her. "I still have dreams today about that guy," he says. "In them, he's still alive. It's harsh." Everyday, I think of him, too. So with each death that is reported, I read the story. In my mind, it should always be the top of the news. These killings did not happen 10 years ago. They are continuing. And sadly, with each one, there is never an arrest, no arraignment, no business class, no pate or duck, no CNN truck. 6月13日 A Mother’s Greatest GiftWanted to share a beautiful poem that my sister, Mari, wrote .
It is so beautiful!
A Mother’s Greatest Gift As she sits silently surrounded by family and strangers numb, but yet feeling. Watching but yet, not seeing. Trying to grasp the faint memories of comfort, of tears and laughter that surrounded her in another time. A time when she was younger, A time when those tears and laughter belonged to the gift she now sees before her, wrapped neatly in the box, sealed shut
The gift she, priceless. The laughter is gone, now there are only tears. Her tears.
As she sits silently, giving her gift strong yet painfully. Loving him longfully. Knowing this is her last time on earth with him. Her gift to Freedom. Her Son.
_Mari (Samirah bint Jackie Dean Todd) 2006© words and graphics all reserved by author 5月12日 A Combat Soldier's Prayer"When one American is not worth the effort to be found, we as Americans have lost!"
A COMBAT SOLDIER'S PRAYER
This combat soldier's prayer,
Teach us that there is no glory in war,
But if I should die on some far, far away battlefield by Gary Jacobson © 1999
5月8日 The Pulitzer PrizeFollowing is an article from the Rocky Mountain News about Jim Sheeler and Todd Heisler winning the Pulitzer Prize for their great effort of covering the war in Iraq and the impact it has had on the military family. At the end I have included the link to that article, it is very moving and emotional and describes the feelings the military family has when they are confronted with the news "that no military family wants to hear".
News wins 2 Pulitzers
Photographer Todd Heisler, reporter Jim Sheeler honored By Kevin Vaughan, Rocky Mountain News The Rocky Mountain News was honored Monday with Pulitzer Prizes in writing and photography for its unflinching look at the way U.S. Marines honor comrades who have paid the ultimate price.
In a newsroom celebration marked by emotion and tears, reporter Jim Sheeler was recognized for winning in feature writing and photographer Todd Heisler in feature photography for their collaboration, "Final Salute." The special report followed a Marine major who has the difficult task of making death notifications and of helping families begin to face life after loss.
And while there was tremendous satisfaction in the awards, there was also a keen sense of respect for the Marines who never came home - and their families.
"We're going to have some glasses of champagne to toast Todd and Jim and also to honor the courage of the families that we wrote about and photographed," said Rocky Mountain News Editor, President and Publisher John Temple, a catch in his voice. "This is an incredible moment for these two journalists and this newspaper."
"Final Salute," published on Veterans Day, chronicled a year in the life of Marine Maj. Steve Beck, the casualty assistance calls officer for Colorado and parts of four other states, and several families who lost loved ones in Iraq. Beck was in the newsroom for the announcement, and later in the afternoon he was joined by the loved ones of two Marines who lost their lives in Iraq.
Sheeler and Heisler paid respect to those families.
"For the families to have let us come along with them through the process - it's a gift that we still hold incredibly dear and that we'll never forget, and we hope that the readers won't," Sheeler said.
Heisler said that while a Pulitzer is the prize every journalist strives for, "that's not what it's about."
"What it's about," he said, "is the reaction of families and that they see that their experience was portrayed accurately and sensitively, and that's what means the most to me."
Several of those in the story also spoke.
"It's nice to know that our husbands and sons won't be forgotten," said Terry Cooper, the mother of the first Colorado casualty of the war in Iraq, Marine Lance Cpl. -Thomas Slocum.
The Pulitzer board cited Sheeler for what it called a "poignant story." It called Heisler's photographs "haunting."
They were the third and fourth Pulitzers won by the News. In 2000, the newspaper won in breaking news photography for coverage of the tragedy at Columbine High. The News won a second breaking-news- photography Pulitzer in 2003 for its coverage of Colorado's devastating wildfires the previous year.
The Pulitzers are the most coveted prizes in journalism, and winners are forever identified with the honor.
In recent weeks, trade publications had carried reports putting Heisler and Sheeler in the running for the prizes. A few minutes before 1 p.m. Monday, News editors and reporters gathered around two computers in the center of the newsroom, waiting for the announcements, which come one at a time from Columbia University in New York.
As each prize popped up on The Associated Press wire, Managing Editor Deb Goeken or Design Director Kathy Bogan called out the winner and the category.
At 1:06, the prize for fiction, to Geraldine Brooks for March, was announced. Then, just a moment later, another bulletin flashed on the computer screen.
Goeken and Bogan shouted in unison: "Jim Sheeler!"
A roar erupted, and as the applause continued, Temple and other editors hugged Sheeler.
During the next several minutes, more prizes were announced. Then, at 1:10, Goeken saw another bulletin.
"Todd Heisler!" she shouted, and the newsroom erupted again.
Sheeler and Heisler, who spent months working together on "Final Salute," shared a long hug.
Heisler hugged and kissed his wife, Kelly, and both men shared warm embraces with Beck.
"At the happiest times - and this is a very happy time - it's very important to remember that our responsibility was really to live up to the challenge of honoring and respecting the people we wrote about," Temple said. "And I don't think there's a greater compliment that I could pay to Todd and Jim - that they treated the people they wrote about with the respect and commitment that they deserved.
"And I want to say, as we celebrate your happiness and the incredible achievement, we remember the courage of those families and the courage of the people who fought for this country and lost their lives and were honored by Jim and Todd."
Later in the afternoon, Temple again gathered the staff in the newsroom. This time, Beck was joined by Katherine Cathey, whose husband, 2nd Lt. James Cathey, was killed in Iraq in August; by their son, 4- month-old Jimmy Cathey; by Katherine's parents, Vic and Vicki Leonard; and by Cooper.
Katherine Cathey remembered the first night she met Sheeler and Heisler - and that she appreciated them coming to her home "and listening to what I had to say about my husband."
"They made a lot of sacrifices, too, so that everybody would have a very clear picture of what the families had to go through," she said through tears as Jimmy fidgeted in her lap. "These two awards couldn't have been given to anybody other than these two guys."
Vic Leonard called "Final Salute" a "story that needed to be told, and it was told very artfully and sensitively."
"I only hope that we take this story out and read it before we go to war next time," he said.
Beck explained why stories like "Final Salute" are important.
"They have an element of perfection to them," he said. "It's kind of like the perfect chord or the perfect pitch that you hear from 3 feet away that gives you goosebumps, that touches your imperfect soul and reminds you of your humanity, who you are as an individual, who you are as a people and who you are as a nation." To read the winning story click on the link below: http://denver.rockymountainnews.com/news/finalSalute/
Thank you! Todd and Jim
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