Our Wall, Our Recognition, Part III, May 2005 Two years later, the passing of yet another Memorial day. While most of America will undoubtedly celebrate with road trips and family gatherings, our sisters and brothers in the Armed Services continue to serve and fall in Iraq and Afghanistan. It is not enough to say that they are heros anymore, they have gone beyond that level of recognition. As time passes, their sacrifices for us will pass into history and this war will become another footnote in man s endless struggle to conquer and destroy one another. But we, mothers, fathers, daughters and sons have a responsibility to ensure that they do not go silent into the night. We have to remember them and let our future generations realize that their contributions to this nation went beyond the sports and entertainment realms. That on any given day their lives ended in an instant in foreign lands without the comfort of family, but with their brothers and sisters in arms, of all faiths and all colors. Before death, they were special only to the people who knew them, but now they have a chance to be special to all of us. So let us take a quiet moment to view and reflect on the lives of these very special people. May their Souls rest in peace Clyde Dowell II For omissions or submissions email me at Donqdow2@hotmail.com
Sgt. Pamela Osbourne 38 Hollywood fl Spc. Katrina Bell-Johnson 32 Orangeburg SC Sgt. Major Barbaralien Banks 41 Harvey, LA By request, below are reprints of our fallen women from previous presntations Pfc. Leslie Jackson 18 Richmond VA (my original inspiration) Sgt. Keicia M. Hines, 27, Citrus Heights, CA Spc. Tyanna S. Felder, 22, Bridgeport, CN Capt. Gussie Jones 41 Shreveport LA
Pfc Andrew Ward 25, Kirtland WA SSGT Jerome Lemon 42, North Charleston SC SSgt James Pettaway Jr. 37, Baltimore MD Cpl Steven Rintamaki 21 Lynwood WA 2nd Lt. Clifford Gadsden 25, Ft Walton Beach FL Pfc Torey Dantzler 22, Columbia LA Pfc. Lionel Ayro 22, Jeanerette LA Spc. Rodney Jones 21, Philadelphia, PA
Spc. Bryan Freeman 31 Lumberton NJ P.O.3rd class Julian Woods 22 Jacksonville Fl Sgt. Pablo Calderon 26 Brooklyn NY Sgt. Michael Smith 24 Camden AR Sgt. Maurice Fortune 25 Forestville MD Sgt. Jonathan Shields 25 Atlanta GA Sgt Nathaniel Swindell 24 Bronx NY Lance Cpl. Demarkus Brown 22 Martinsville Va
Sgt. Isiah Sinclair, 31 Natchitoches, LA Sgt. Maurice Fortune 25 Forestville, MD Sgt. Tromaine Toy Sr. 24 Eastville, va Spc. Bernard Sembly 25, Bossier City, LA Ssgt Dexter Kimble 30 Houston TX Ssgt Samuel Castle, 26 Naples, TX Ssgt. William Brooks, 30 Birmingham AL Sgt. Rene Knox Jr. 22 New Orleans LA
Sgt. James Sherrill 27, Ekron Kentucky Sgt. Lee Godbolt 23, New Orleans, LA PFC Chassan Henry 20, West Palm Beach, FL Sgt. Bennie Washington 25, Atlanta Ga 2nd Lt. Andre Dyson 33, Riverside CA Lance Cpl. Marcus Mahdee, 20 Fort Walton Beach, FL Sgt Timothy Osbey 34, Magnolia MS
The families that grieve their loss Pfc Lee Lewis Jr. 28, Norfolk, VA
Warrant Officer Charles Wells Jr. 32 Montgomery Al Spc. Darryl Dent 21 Washington DC Lance Cpl Jonathan Gadsden 21 Charleston, SC
And let us not forget to pray for those who are still there
Let us never forget these faces, lest their sacrifices be for naught. Make their deaths mean something by aspiring to live your lives to the fullest. For we are not promised tomorrow, but everyday we breathe is a chance to love, laugh, and celebrate the preciousness of life. For a moment of each day, do not pass judgement on your neighbor, tell a family member that you love them, open a door for an elderly person, be kind to a stranger because sometimes we are strangers ourselves. It s the little things in life that we take for granted, do not wait for death to occur before you realize it. 1,651 Americans have fallen, 175 of them are of African descent. May God bless the men and women of the armed services in this time of peril