Dying soldier sends message to family, friends

[Bonobo]

Iraq War Toll on a Local Level. Here's Our Latest Local Death Story. Read & Weep.

GREENFIELD - Fighting back tears, Ari Brown-Weeks' wife, Ashley, stood in front of a church full of people and read aloud a letter that came back with her husband's belongings from Iraq - after his death in September.

'In my last few breaths these are my thoughts,' said Brown-Weeks, in a letter he wrote to his family in case he died. 'I know my leaving this Earth may cause some a great deal of pain, but please take some comfort knowing that I go with the great honor of serving my country and those who need its help.''I leave doing something I believe in, working to make a difference more than many can say. My only regret is this pain, that (you) my loved ones feel.''I can promise you something though. Keep me alive in your minds and hearts and I will always be there looking over your shoulder.'
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'A mother couldn't ask for a more perfect husband for her daughter,' said Tillery, pausing several times to compose herself. She said she knew he would become a part of her family and joked about how he always ate the leftovers in their refrigerator. He was family.

Brown-Weeks loved baseball and was a devoted Red Sox fan. The two went to a game in Maryland. He came to her door with a Red Sox jersey in his hand and told her she was going to wear it.

After the memorial service, Weeks said she is now a Red Sox fan and watched the whole World Series.

Many others remembered Brown-Weeks. One sang 'Beautiful Boy' by John Lennon, the song his mother sang to him as a child and into his ear when they danced at his wedding Dec. 10, 2006.

The memorial service concluded with a slide show documenting Brown-Weeks' life, from his early years as a baby to his stay in Iraq. The lights were turned off and the pictures were shown in the arch above the altar in the church, with fiddles playing in the background.

'As I begin to drift away to the heavens, my last words to my beautiful wife and loving family - my love cannot die, it will always be with you. Thank you for a beautiful life and such a genuine love as that of which you have given me,' were the last words Brown-Weeks wrote in his letter.

Brown-Weeks was buried in Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia in October.

[shadowknows69]

1. This shit has to end

Just too horrible. :cry:

[Bonobo]

2. Here's the comment I posted to the local paper.

"This %$%$##% war! Each one of those who have died or otherwise had their lives taken away from them is worth a hell of a lot more as a human being than this cowardly fear-mongering dictator wannabe we have "leading" us. What a tragic waste. This good young man would have done anything to serve the country and look how he was used. Shameful."

[shadowknows69]

3. Well said.