On thy grave the rain shall fall from the eyes of a mighty naiton!
~Thomas W. Parsons
Today, we honor the brave men and women, who gave their lives for us serving in the United States Armed Forces. At Chagrin Falls High School, a small memorial honors graduates who died in service to their country.
Mary Jane Kashkoush is our own Gold Star mother. Her story “Perchance to Dream” is in Love You More Than You Know. Her beloved son, Sergeant Michael Kashkoush lost his life in Iraq. Michael was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart. My daughter, Meme went to school with Michael.
On May 7, 2008, President Bush signed Public Law no-224, naming the Chagrin Falls Post Office in honor of Sergeant Michael Kashkoush.
Mary Jane said, “This process of grieving and reconnecting to life is like trying to tune into a station on a car radio, the dial-in-knob kind, with static coming over the airways. . . My heart aches. . . Home is where the heart is, and my Mike is always with me.”
We remember their sacrifices and pray for Gold Star families on this Memorial Day.
This is how I created my anthology. It is a labor of love dedicated to the two veterans in my life, my father and my son.
Update: This is what the art installation looks like for Kathy’s quote at Sarasota National Veterans Cemetery in Florida at the Patriot Plaza funded by the Patterson Foundation.
Brad, Kathy, and Andy
Please give a very warm welcome to my guest, Kathy Sargent. Kathy, author of the chapter “Army Mom, Serving in the Silent Ranks” in Love You More Than You Know is the proud mom of three military sons. A quote from Kathy’s chapter is being used in a public art instillation at Sarasota National Veterans Cemetery in Florida to inspire and honor our military families. Congratulations Kathy. You and your sons make this world a better place.
The story continues….Timothy’s wish to join the Army, has come true. He is a trained combat medic with an expert field medic badge. He has followed his brothers, and his dreams.
Bradley, is now married to a beautiful former soldier, Maria. They have been blessed, and have blessed me with a darling granddaughter, Isabella. Currently, Bradely and Maria are living in South Carolina, but I have been informed that they will be moving to Alaska in the near future.
Andrew is now married to a beautiful soldier as well. Her name is Jess. They are raising my two granddoggers, Lupa; a German Shepherd, and Odin; a Golden Retriever. Andrew and Jess are currently living in Georgia. Andrew was forced to retire from the Army due to medical issues. This was hard for him, as he really enjoyed what he was doing. With the support of family and friends, I believe Andrew will be just fine.
Things have changed a lot with me, but have also stayed the same. I still worry about my soldiers, especially Timothy since he will be going back for a second tour of Afghanistan. I’m thankful that I have my older sons to explain things to me, especially the former combat medic. But it still bothers me that I can’t protect my son.
I continue to read labels at the grocery store, and I notice others who do the same, with tears streaming down their faces. I show them my service banner pin on my jacket, smile, give them a hug and thank them for their service, as well as the service of their family member. I share things that pack and travel well, and just try to be there for them. Once you go on the journey of having a child deployed, you understand.
Prayers please for Timothy and all of our deployed service men and women.
Looking forward to seeing you at the Bedford Commons this weekend, September 14 and 15th from 1:00-3:00 PM. Stop by and say “Hello”. I will be signing the award winning book, Love You More Than You Know Mothers’ Stories About Sending Their Sons and Daughters to War. See you at the Author Tent on the Bedford Commons, 730 Broadway Avenue, Bedford Ohio.
Images courtesy of The Patterson Foundation
Larry Kirkland, a DC-based public artist is working on a project for the Sarasota National Veterans Cemetery in Florida, funded by The Patterson Foundation.
Larry’s project is to tell the story of what it is like to serve in the military or be in a service family. Sixteen 8.5′ x 4′ x 8″ white marble TABLETS will be created as part of a public art installation called SERVICE, SUPPORT, SACRIFICE.
Each tablet will have a window cut into it that contains a photographic image printed on glass that sits in the window.The tablets will also include an engraved image and TEXT on the face of the marble.
The text includes a collection from personal and published interviews. One of the quotes Larry will include as text on one of the tablets is by Kathy Sargent on page 135 of Love You More Than You Know Mothers’ Stories About Sending Their Sons an d Daughters to War. Kathy’s story is titled “Army Mom, Serving in the Silent Ranks.”
Congratulations to Kathy. Her words honor all Blue Star and Gold Star Mothers. Her words speak for us all. Her words will speak for generations to come:
“We of the ‘Silent Ranks’ go about our business every day. We go to the grocery store, take our younger children to dance, soccer, baseball and band practice. We clean our homes, take care of our yards, cook and clean…We have tear-stained faces and cry while reading the labels of canned foods at the store....We fly the American Flag alongside a service banner…We’re just like everyone else; we just have a little more on our minds than most.”
It’s official! Woohoo! Thank you for the votes! This award honors our beloved sons, daughters and families in the military. Debra Estep, one of the authors in our book, Love You More Than You Know, couldn’t have said it better, “Our stories are a tiny fraction of the thousands of military families who have had children ‘go off to war’. To the many who never came back, to the many who came back, but will never be the same, and to those still serving in far off lands….THIS IS FOR THEM !!!!!!
There were more than 1,000 nominations for best Cleveland book and Love You More Than You Know Mothers’ Stories About Sending Their Sons and Daughters to War made the top five books.
Please vote for Love You More Than You Know for being named as one of the finalist in the 2013 About.com Readers Choice award for Best Cleveland book. You can continue to vote once in a 24 hour period until March 19 with the winner being announced on March 27.
Thank you for your votes and keep them coming!
Please consider nominating Love You More Than You Know by Janie Reinart (only can use 75 characters so rest of title doesn’t fit in nomination menu) for 2013 Readers’ Choice Awards. Deadline for nominations is Feb.11. Votes are limited to one vote per award category per user per day. Thanks for your help.
Love You More Than You Know 