I made it back from Washington D.C. safe and sound Friday evening. Sorry for not writing since then, but it always takes me a day or two to recover for traveling.

I got to do and see a lot of neat things in our nation’s Capitol, but one of the most memorable and awe-inspiring was visiting the World War II Memorial, which sits between the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument.

It’s the first time I’ve seen this monument, since the last time I was in D.C. was for an Eighth Grade field trip in 1996. It was every bit as amazing as I had heard it was, but there was one part of it I was never told about.

There is one wall there with 4,048 gold stars; one star for every 100 Americans killed and that great conflict. According to my calculator, that’s 407,800 soldiers who gave their lives for a cause larger than themselves.

My Dad is downstairs right now making sure his winter Marine Corps uniform fits properly so he can march in the Memorial Day Parade here in St. Marys. The winter uniform is heavy-duty wool, and in this heat snap he’s going to be uncomfortable. But the winter uniform is all he has and he is more than willing to endure heat to march in it. Compared to the ultimate sacrifice of others, what is heat? What is pain?

In some ways sacrifice is a lost art in the country, but still there are those that walk into recruiting centers, walk out of boot camp, and walk onto a battlefield. Some walk off the battlefield, but sadly some have to be carried by an honor guard.

So to those that lost their lives in wars past, and those, such as Cheif Warrant Officer Brent S. Cole of Reedsville in Preston County, who died just this weekend, we honor you.

Thank you for standing in the gap.