Why We Write About Aaron

De'on sent me an e-mail last night, and I want to respond to it here on the blog. She is concerned that she might be beating people up with Aaron's death.

"I can write it over and over, but I wonder if people want to hear it over and over," De'on said in her e-mail.

De'on's son, Aaron, as you know, was killed in Fallujah, Iraq, on April 26, 2004. If you're new to our blog, this will be only one of the million times we talk about Aaron, the Marines, the military or that horrible day on a rooftop in Fallujah when Aaron sacrificed his life to save his fellow Marines. If you've been reading our blog, then please forgive one more mention of Aaron and his heroism. I might warn you to brace yourself, though. There will be many more posts about Aaron.

De'on, you're not beating anyone up with Aaron's death. We're not focusing on his death here on Gunz Up. Our focus is on his life, his energy and his heroism. His death is a part of his life, and it must be discussed sometimes. Aaron lived life at the speed of light in a vacuum. His energy was like an IV to the people around him, injecting them with vigor they didn't possess until he came around. How can that not be celebrated? How can that passion for life be allowed to dissipate until it no longer can be recalled by anyone?

De'on and I started this blog for several reasons. We wanted to support our military, we wanted to chronicle my wanderings in the Middle East, and we wanted to share Aaron's life with the world. Why shouldn't he be shared with everyone? He gave his life for everyone. You write about Aaron as often as you like because I know his passion for life, his love for family and country and his devotion to duty can still inspire people to take that extra step and to relish their lives. Forget him? Never. Allow him to fade into a bunch of pictures that people will look at 50 years from now and wonder who he is? Not gonna happen. His sacrifice deserves better from us.

What we do here for Aaron is our way of remembering the hundreds of thousands of other American men and women who have fought and died for their country. It's not that De'on can't let go or accept her son's death. She has accepted it, and her courage in doing so also is a heroic act. No mother should have to bury her son. De'on has buried two, and there are no more. With Aaron's death, De'on also buried the hopes of any grandchildren.

So, you write about Aaron. You write about his life so that it will always be remembered and honored. Aaron was awarded the Silver Star for his bravery in Fallujah. If our nation's military leaders saw fit to honor Aaron why should anyone expect his family and friends to do any less?

In one of De'ons writings titled "Cosas" she says this: "Someone asked me once, 'What was your son’s name?' And I thought to myself, his name is Aaron. It will always be. I still have a future with him. That future is everything to me. It means more than even the past."

His name is Aaron, and we are all lucky to share that future with De'on.