My brother Robert struggled with PTSD for 10 years after Vietnam Nam until his life was taken in a drug overdose. While Robert did not give his life during active military duty (the strict definition of Memorial Day), he nevertheless died as a result of fighting for his country. The men in my family have been serving and fighting for our freedom since the Civil War.

So today I think of what all who died protecting us, including Robert, will never experience. They will never sit in the stands of a high school game screaming their lungs out for the home team. They will never jump to their feet at the end of a child’s school play. They will never hug and comfort their child after a scary dream.

There will be no happy family Christmas photos. They will never walk their daughters down the aisle. They will never taste the cold sweetness an ice cream cone after a family cookout on a hot day like this.

So today I proudly hoist a brand new flag to remember all those young men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice so that you and I wouldn’t have to. I offer a prayer for the loved ones they left behind. And also for our soldiers still in harm’s way, and the thousands of veterans trying to reenter civilian life.

Today I’m bleeding red, white, and blue.

God bless America…

Pat