Final Salute

If you haven’t already seen this story then you should really go read it. It’s quite long, so pick a time when you can give it your undivided attention. It tells of Marine Major Steve Beck, who’s job is to notify families that they’ve lost a loved one. The story follows Maj.Beck as he helps two families deal with their losses- LCPL. Kyle W. Burns and 2nd Lt. Jim Cathey. It’s a story that will break your heart.

An excerpt:

Remembering the Brave

Inside a ballroom at an Aurora hotel in April, Beck adjusted a line of medals on a banquet table, struggling with all they reflected.

“When you think about what these guys did, it’s not easy to look at these medals,” he said. “What’s the trade-off? What’s the exchange? How do you say (holding up a medal), ‘This is for your son?’”

At the beginning of the year, Beck realized there were a number of medals due the Marines whose families he watched over. Instead of mailing the medals to them, which often occurs, he decided to hold a formal ceremony to present them to the families personally.

He called the ceremony “Remembering the Brave.”

Beck considered the medals again, feeling their weight.

“It’s not a trade, but in the minds of the mothers, I wonder if they think it is a trade, and that they’re thinking, ‘I don’t want this medal. I want my son,’” he said.

“The only way I can dispel that is through something like this. By showing them the honor. By honoring their son.”

After the lights dimmed in the ballroom, more than 500 people fell silent.

“You are about to hear the descriptions of individual acts of courage,” Beck said. “Listen closely.

“Listen. Closely.”

For nearly an hour, they heard detailed accounts of rocket-propelled grenade attacks and improvised explosive devices, of ambushes and assaults - each with the same ending.

Slowly, methodically, the Marines brought out the medals and citations and kneeled before a mother or father they had first met on a doorstep. For each family, the Marines also presented a vase of yellow roses, one rose for every year of the Marine’s life.

After it was over, Beck sat back and took another deep breath.

“Even some of our Marines say, ‘Why are we doing this to the families? Why do you have to keep reminding them?’”

Beck shook his head.

“This isn’t about reminding them - they don’t need reminding. These families think about this every day of their lives.”

He looked up, addressing every person who hasn’t felt what those families have.

“This isn’t about reminding them,” he said.

“This is about reminding you.”