In Memoriam.....

Well, I suppose that everyone, at some time, loses someone that they know or love to war. This just happened to be the day that I really felt the true weight of war come home to me. I was talking to a friend of mine from college. Her husband is a Marine serving in Iraq. A friend of his was in his unit, his name is Jesse. It just so happens that Jesse was an acquaintance of mine in college.

Let me tell you about Jesse. One thing that I remember most about Jesse is that he was always smiling. And when I say smiling, I mean SMILING! But it wasn't a put on, he was genuinely happy, from deep down inside and you could see it in his eyes. He was a Spiritual Life Director of one of the guy's halls on my college campus, and he truly loved the Lord with all of his heart. He later went on to be an RA on one of the Senior Residence halls. He was sincere, he was kind. He also participated in the Student Government.

Jesse joined the Marine Reserves while he was a student in college. I remember that every time we had a special military emphasis in our convocations, there was Jesse, proudly wearing his Marine dress uniform. He was willing to give all that he had to protect others, to die in service of his country, and as became necessary, to die that others might live free.

Good night, and Godspeed Jesse. You will be remembered by many who are grateful to have known you.

To Read about Jesse