R.I.P

Time adds little perspective.
Death in a hostile place, a time not chosen.
Cities hard to pronounce; countries hard to find.
Cause, clarity; clouded, confused. Hard to recall.

Time dulls memory.
Pace pushes people on.
Space vacated, empty, gone.
Place dissolves, no trace, so it seems.

Taps begins to play.
This I remember.
Their laughter, their scent.
First date, first kiss, first love.
A Friday night, when life was simple.
The future a certain dream, bullet proof...not.

Tears flow freely now.
Pride in a life well lived.
Grief for a life given; invested and gone.
The loss, the pain; heart broken, shattered.

These are the Soldiers, Sailors, Marines and Airmen...
Their last full-measure given; duty, honor, country.
May they rest in peace.

May we never forget.