September
20, 1996 was the day that literally changed my
life. It was the
day when
I buried my most trusted friend, hero, mentor and "other
brother". He
was a former Green Beret.
He
was killed while still serving our
government
in an operative status.
Who and what I am today, I owe to him and the
All-American lessons he
taught
me.
He was the ultimate friend, comrade and warrior.
His comrades
and
I
called
him The A TEAM. He called me SIS. I will
continue to address
him
as
"The
A Team" for the privacy of his family and his
active operative comrades.
Upon his death,
my most trusted friend's gallant
widow asked me to deliver
his eulogy at his
service
as well as sing in his honor. I did.
It was the
most honorable task
I
had ever been ask to perform.
All the while, it
was the most emotionally
difficult
and draining.
How could I put into words what this
hero and friend
meant
to
all
of us?
He had touched hundreds of lives in the
circle of his friends and
his
troops.
As I looked
into
the congregation in the chapel, I saw many of
America's most elite
warriors.
I saw world class leaders
who
had flown in to pay
their respects. I
asked his widow…."Why me?"
Of all
those world class operators there,
why
me to deliver this honorable tribute? She
simply reminded me that I
was
his "Little Sis" and he had always loved how I love
our troops.
He had
always
taught me to do the right things,
and to say the
right things. "Today", she
said,
"is
the day to say the right thing."
It was a beautiful Friday sunny afternoon at
Arlington National Cemetery;
a
day fitting for a hero. As I walked the
hills of
Arlington with his comrades
and
wife, I felt a pride for my country that I had
never experienced before. There
is a sense of honor and dignity at Arlington that
can not be put into
words.
I personally
believe that every American should have to walk
these
hills
at least once
with a friend.
It is
a
powerful of a walk.
As
I walked the hills of Arlington, the white rows
of
headstones were
overwhelming.
I realized that
each
had names
on them.
They were
sons, brothers,
fathers,
husband, sisters
and
moms.
They had all paid the ultimate sacrifice for
this country.
As
the 21
gun salute rang out, the Old Guard bugler
played, America
the
Beautiful.
I
watched the young honor guard fold the American
flag that would
be
presented
to my friend's widow. As
I watched, her eyes filled with tears of
pride
for the man she loved.
Right then, I knew that I
could not let his death be in vain.
For
her sake, as well as his, I simply could not walk
away and
let
his life end just like that.
I knew that I must do
something to keep his
legacy
alive, and the
love
that he had for his country and his fellow special
operations
comrades.
Just as he had taught his troops to be warriors in
the field,
"The A Team" had
taught
me
to be a warrior of the heart.
Our conversations
were always about our
love
for
our country, and how we all are called to serve our
nation in some way. It
wasn't
until he died that many of his words and mentoring
came back to me in
a
deeper understanding of how it would be used to
serve my country and my
brothers
and sisters in arms.
Since September 20, 1996, there has never been a
doubt in my call to this
mission. At
that time I did not fully understand how it would
be done, but I
knew it would revolve around music because that
was "the sword" I was given.
On that day, as I said farewell to my most trusted
friend, I made two vows on
his grave and they are the vows I live by today.
One, I would keep his
legacy
alive, and the love he had for his special
operations warriors. Two, I
would
take every opportunity to share God's love with
our troops from all
branches.
When you leave this earth, you don't take any
medals or rank with you. All you
have is your faith,
and where you will spend
eternity. Faith is the only
gear
we take into the next life.
That is the mission.
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