With gratitude and in loving memory of...

Today, Memorial Day, is the day we have set aside to pay tribute to our fallen. Today I would like to say a few words to the families and friends of those men and women.

THANK YOU!

You are in my prayers.

A few years back, a friend of mine told me of some repeating dreams he had had ever since returning from Nam, where he had served as a combat medic. The dreams, nightmares really, were always the same - filled with pain and terror, both his and that of the Vietnamese people around him. And they always jolted him awake, bathed in sweat and terror. He had had those dreams for years and they scarred him as deeply as any amputation. He was a good man, my friend, and he tried hard to live a good life. But his scars took their toll on him, and also on his long time companion and their relationship. They both suffered for many years, long after the war had receded in memory for most folks.

I have known a fairly good number of veterans and their families over the years well enough to see the scars that their military time has left on them. Sometimes the pain and memories cost them their jobs, or their families. Sometimes it only cost them their sense of serenity - but always... there was a cost.

These days we have a new generation of veterans. Men and women who went off to war in Iraq or Afghanistan. Some never made it back home to family and friends, some came back like my friend. They all have paid a price for their service. And their families and friends will pay a price too.

So to those of you who have lost a family member, friend or lover, I pray that you will find an end to pain and grief and I thank you for bearing the burden for us all.

To those of you who have come home with the scars and dreams of your time in country, I pray you will find a healing for your body and spirit, strength for your self and your loved ones, and peace for your soul. And thank you for bearing the burden for us all.

And I will say a special prayer for those who came home but fell on these shores. For the families, friends and lovers of those who have made it back but are still trying to find their way home, I pray you strength, hope and healing. And I hope you will accept the humble gratitude of a stranger who knows only a little of your burden and would walk by your side.

Thank you my brothers and sisters! Thank you and may God ease your path and bring you healing and peace!

And a special prayer to the family and friends of Sgt. Nils Aron Andersson  and his wife, Cassy Walton - you will not be forgotten.

A victim of the war within...