~ Who do you Honor?~

Traditionally Memorial Day is for Remembering those who died
 in Military Service.
You should fly your flag at half staff
from dawn until noon (some do all day though).
 Many do not realize the upheaval
 that changing it to a 3 day holiday produced.
So often since the War in Iraq
 people say they find the news coming out of Iraq
 depressing and turn the knob when it comes on.

This should be the one day you stand and remember those who have fallen.

In this day and age who do you honor?
 Everyone has a hero someone they look up to,
 someone they think of fondly.
 For myself on this day
I will Honor a Military Serviceman
 in the True Spirit of the Holiday.

I myself Honor

Sgt Steven Bridges 33 yrs young -
 I met Steve through his daughter Dawn,
 she was my neighbor and would become
one of my Good Friends here at Lewis.

He was open and funny,
truly I don't think he ever met a stranger.
He and his Wife Debbie adopted all the single guys in their unit
and would have them over for BBQ'S
 along with the rest of us.
 Us being my family and other families
 they were close to.
 Winter weekends would find us
 all at their house
 in Beachwood (beautiful view of American Lake)
playing Bingo and the poor guys how they would grumble
when they would lose to us.
The light of his eyes though
besides Debbie was his daughter.
Ah many say their sons act like their fathers
but Sarrah, she was her Steve made over.
She had her own set of bdu's,
 she was never one for fufu frilly
things and loved playing soccer.
She loved her Daddy
and like most girls her age
thought the sun rose and set on him.

As the time gathered near for his deployment
 and summer came and went so fast,
 I remember we did her birthday at Build A Bear,
 and Steve and I got in trouble with our spouses
 for clowning around.
Poor Mitch, Dawns husband claimed innocent (he really was)
 of our comments.
 I remember thinking that they gave everything to their kids.

They spent so much money
 for all these kids to make bears.
And they were perfectly Happy to do it!!

Fourth of July came, and we all were together,
 Army families gather close to one another,
 you don't have your own, so you make another one.
 Ours was a rather large filled with plenty of love and teasing. Debbie's family lived here her sister,
 parent's and other children as well.
 She was best friends with her neighbor,
 you couldn't picture more shining happy people.

We do our farewell dinner for Steve.
 We are all laughing at the fact
 that Tristen joined Boy Scouts
 and the thought of me trying to behave,
 eating so much.
We are kicked back on the couch, I remember he just held Debbie.
She had this serene look on her face.

I was always so honored to be included in their love.

He left.
You could just see the hurt on everyone's faces during Halloween. Then Thanksgiving at Debbie's Mom's,
she comes in sits down next to her Dad's chair
and says you have to hear this song.
We all sit there and listened to American Soldier by Toby Keith.

She cried so hard that Dawn and I both,
 got up and went over and held her.
You see our husbands were due to leave to for Iraq,
we knew the pain she was feeling as it was just a heartbeat away for us.

December...
I ran into Debbie one night at the PX.

She was laughing at me I was sick and actually took Nyquil
capsules before I went and hit not one
but several things and knocked them over.
She said “oh great and I am going to be on the street the same time as you?"
Nicole (Dawn's sister) was laughing saying
"I haven't even seen you like this ever, even drunk.”

We laughed we hugged and they left.

Suddenly when I got home,
Dawn called me.
In this weird tone, "Can you keep the kids?"
Kendra and Sampson were and still are like my own "Of course."
She walks over white as a ghost,
and I grabbed her "Dawn,what is wrong honey?"

"I am not supposed to tell you Cat" ,
she was so pale and so out of it I just held her,
I knew it was bad immediately.
"Just take care of them please?" and I did.

Next thing I remember she came back over
just bawling her heart out.
Grabbed me and said "Cat, Steve is dead"
and the room twisted and I just kept saying no.
Not my silly friend,
who made bad jokes with me
and teased me,
who loved Debbie, that made her smile.

December 8, 2003 the world lost a damn good man.
Debbie lost her Life Partner
and Sarrah lost her Daddy
Dawn, Nicole and Tim lost the man they grew to know as their Father
and we lost a Great Friend.

Staff Sgt. Steven Bridges was among the first three Stryker soldiers to be killed in Iraq, when their Stryker rolled over into a canal near Duluiyah.

Killed with Steve were Joseph Blickenstaff of Corvallis Oregon, Christopher Wesley of Portland, Steven Bridges was from Tracy, California

He left behind a Beautiful Wife Debbie
who has since become a Activist for Gold Star Wives (Spouses of Fallen Soldiers) she is now trying to get Bills Passed through Congress for Change.

Sarrah a redheaded imp with beautiful brown eyes

Dawn a fine woman and Mother to 3 beautiful children

Nicole

Timothy

Mitch
A Proud husband to Dawn Soldier that has served in Iraq as suffering the loss of his own mother recently. Never once has he not been there for them.

I Honor you all.
And am so Honored to know you,
life has been enriched by the circle of friends I found here.
Forever in our hearts