Their last ride--Memorial Day at Fort Logan National Cemetery

[pilot]

It had been a cool and damp ride all day throughout the Denver area. I had just said fond farewells to my longtime friend and fellow veteran, John. John lives just a few blocks from Fort Logan National Cemetery...and it was on my home that I drove by.

At first, I gave the cemetery a glance, just as I had always done for years, as I too had lived near there. But all the American flags at each headstone drew me to turn my bike back around at the next intersection. I debated with myself as to whether or not it would be right to ride my 1200, with its rumbling pipes, through these marble laden fields. Something drew me in.
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The mist fogged my face shield--the last thing separating my eyes from silent soldiers...and their loved ones. Slowly I rode past thousands of names. I don't know what drew me to stop, but something did. I dismounted my ride and began walking inward beyond the first rows of marble. In the distance I heard sounds of weeping. A woman and what appeared to be her son stood alone in a sea of stones.



Many headstones were adorned with flowers and letters of remembrance. Here and there the colors of pictures began to wash away in the rain. I kept walking. As if being called.
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[pilot]

Here she lay. I don't know what she looked like: the color of her hair; how soft her skin was; the sound of her voice when she laughed. I only know what the stone told me. She was a young woman, a soldier, a friend, a daughter and an aunt. She was a United States Marine that died on the battle fields of a land far away. A land where as I stood and remembered her, where as others rode and raced in our country, where friends were gathering for drink and meal, it was a land far away from our lives.

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I had no flowers, I'm ashamed--I took one small rose from a grave nearby. I begged forgiveness from the soldiers around me for this theft of a gift so endearing by others. But she looked so alone.

Goodbye fellow soldier. Sweet dreams Lisa Lyn Swisher. Someday, I too, shall rest nearby.

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[sandboxshooter]

Thanks buddy...so many people forget what the day is intended for. Great tribute. RIP Sgt Lisa Swisher and thanks for all of our members that have served or are serving.

[Nick_Ninja]

:up: