On June 6th, our small town lost its first soldier in Afghanistan. I didn't know Lt. Matt Fazzari; he was only 25 years old, a son, husband and father to two very young children, but today as his body was taken from our small airport to the funeral home, hundreds of citizens lined the streets with flags and hands over hearts to honor him.
I didn't find out about this event until last night in an e-mail, and I'm so glad I did. It was an honor to stand there for him; I hope his family in their time of grief still knows that his death was not in vain. I pray for them to somehow find peace and comfort; I cannot imagine how they feel.
I feel so honored to live in this great land, even with all of its problems. God bless all of our Soldiers who are putting their lives on the line everyday in order to keep us free. And God bless the leaders of our country; may they take their responsibilities seriously and stand by us and not over us.
I took some photos, hoping that they reflected the mood of the time
we were standing on the curb. After we stood at the first place we
drove to where my husband was with Pacific Power and Light. A few of
their employees are related to Matt, and they lined up their boom trucks
with flags for the Procession to pass through.
And I
hope it's okay and not disrespectful that we were smiling in a few
photos; there were certainly some tears shed and reflection taking place as well.
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Waiting for the Procession to begin |
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The Procession begins |
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You can see the black limousines from the back; I felt funny taking photos of them. |
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I love what this flag says: Lost but not forgotten |
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I think Mary and Sierra's expressions tell the story of the moment |
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My friends, Mary, Lois, Sierra (me) and Faith |
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My husband standing by one of the boom trucks |
How sad. I'm glad your town honored him that way. My hometown did something similar when a man from there was killed.
ReplyDeletewhat a wonderful tribute to one who gave his life for our freedom. I'm sure his family appreciated the support and the love they saw displayed like this.
ReplyDeletebetty
OH my gosh, how beautiful and sacred. I'm so glad the town recognized this young man and came together to honor him. My husband was in the Air Force for 20 years, and my heart is always with our military. You have a sweet blog, and I'm going to follow. :-)
ReplyDeleteMare, this is crazy that I"m just now replying to your comment from June! For some reason, either I didn't see it or forgot to reply but I'm so happy that you stopped by! Thanks for your comment; it is greatly appreciated.
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