Ft. Hood Memorial Service Honors 13 Fallen Soldiers

I was able to watch the broadcast of the memorial service held at Ft. Hood today. It was a fitting tribute for the 13 who gave their lives that tragic day ... just a few days ago ... Nov. 5, 2009. Ten were men and three were women, ranging in ages from just out of high school to retired and recently re-enlisted. One was an expectant mother, expecting her first child.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091106/ap_on_re_us/us_fort_hood_victim_vignettes

President Obama gave a moving eulogy. He said that these thirteen fallen soldiers were brave men and women ... and that they like so many other soldiers were "Americans who had been called to answer an extraordinary call to serve their comrades, communities, and their country."

"Men and women from many races, faiths, and stations of life united to accomplish a common goal: preservation of the freedom that we know and have come to cherish. "

"But here is what you must also know: your loved ones endure through the life of our nation. Their memory will be honored in the places they lived and by the people they touched. Their life’s work is our security, and the freedom that we too often take for granted. Every evening that the sun sets on a tranquil town; every dawn that a flag is unfurled; every moment that an American enjoys life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness – that is their legacy.

Neither this country – nor the values that we were founded upon – could exist without men and women like these thirteen Americans. And that is why we must pay tribute to their stories."


These soldiers, and those who continue to serve, inspire us and remind us what it truly means to be an American. May God bless the families who have lost Mothers, Fathers, Sisters, Brothers, Sons and Daughters. May He grant them comfort in their time of need. May God also bless America, its leaders, and those who continue to serve our great nation in order to uphold the freedom that we so cherish.

Song: 'Amazing Grace', By 48th Highlanders Pipes and Drums

For further info on the Presidents speech visit the White House Blog:  http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog


As much as this tragedy truly saddens me, it does --hopefully-- serve as a reminder to those of us left behind, that we should stop and look beyond our own little bubbles of concern ... look beyond ourselves to the greater world beyond us and to those LIVING in it.  We all have it within us to aspire to something greater ...