I woke up yesterday and went on Facebook only to find out that an old friend from high school had died on Saturday. It's weird because Saturday I was talking with a friend about his son who is serving in Afghanistan and he was relieved to have heard from him as it had been a months time. I immediately had Mark flash into my head and I was going to say something and decided against it. We haven't seen in each other in many years, but he was one of those people that I always wondered about over the years. I was very happy to reconnect with him on FB last year.
He was a major in the National Guard. He served two tours in Afghanistan. He just finished his last tour and returned home to his family right before Christmas. They did a very touching story about him coming home and surprising his daughter at school - it made me cry, it was very touching.
He was about to settle back into his life when he was hospitalized for an ongoing condition at a VA hospital. Apparently, his heart stopped and that was it... This is the heart breaker for me. He served and protected our country, to come home and die so suddenly...
My heart goes out to his family, to his wife and young daughter. I can only imagine what they are going through right now. I'm all torn up over this and I feel like I don't have any business feeling this way, because we hadn't been in touch over the years.
I want to thank my friend Mark for what he did for us, for our country. I'm certain that I didn't thank him enough when I had to the chance...
Thanks for letting me share.
Not so splendid then...
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| Mark in 1986 - how I always picture him in my mind |
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| Major Mark Fitzgerald |
I'm so sorry to hear about your friend. He leaves behind an honorable legacy. We are all better off for the life he lived.
ReplyDeleteThank you ♥
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