05/26/2026
It’s been a great weekend taking moments of silence, reflecting on sacrifice, and remembering those that have given it all. Today we continued honoring the selfless sacrifices of those whom are no longer with us at the Emerald Hills Funeral Home & Memorial Park’s and Kennedale Alumni Association’s Memorial events.
Memorial Day is a sacred day.
Not because of barbecues, long weekends, summer sales or veteran discounts, but because freedom has always come at a cost paid by someone else.
For some, these are names etched into stone.
For others, they’re faces we still see in our minds and voices we still hear in our hearts.
Men like Cpl David Helm, and Private First Class Mike Rivers, Marines I’ve served with like LtCol Mario Carazo, SSgt Donnie Gilray, LCpl Hearst & LCpl Willard, and so many others we carry with us in ways words can’t fully explain.
As a Marine, husband, father, and as someone who has walked through both war and loss, I’ve learned something important:
The fallen only truly disappear when they are forgotten.
That is why we gather.
That is why we remember.
That is why we carry them with us.
The greatest way we can honor their sacrifice is not simply by mourning their absence in our lives, but by living lives worthy of what they gave.
So today, this weekend, we remembered them well. Let’s continue to, each and every day, by loving our families deeply, serving our communities faithfully, and by never taking this nation, or the freedoms we enjoy, for granted.
Semper Fidelis. God bless you, God bless our communities, and God bless America! 🙏🏻🇺🇸 🫡
(Special thanks to Laurie Middleton Sanders, Melvin Cooper, Doug Petersen, Christopher Jones, all the community leaders, community members, and volunteers that supported these events and showed up!)
