Remembering Kevin

Yesterday was Memorial Day, but like so many other Americans restricted by coronavirus, I couldn’t pay respects to my brothers and sisters at Arlington National Cemetery. 

Every year since 2004 - when I wasn't deployed as a Marine or traveling for work - I have visited Section 60 of the cemetery to honor and remember my good friend, Lieutenant Colonel Kevin Shea, and all of the other fallen heroes who paid the ultimate sacrifice in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Kevin was my roommate and best friend at the Marine Corps’ Basic School in Quantico, Virginia from June to December 1989 -- for six months we shared a room, challenges, and most of all laughs. Kevin was born on September 14, 1966 and was killed during a rocket attack on Camp Fallujah, Iraq on his 38th birthday - September 14, 2004, leaving behind his wife and two children.

In the absence of visiting him yesterday, I spent the morning doing something that I know Kevin would prefer and appreciate. After a long run with my wife, Laura, I sat alone for a couple of hours under the flag on our front porch, made 63 paracord survivor bracelets for Deployed Troops (one for every star and stripe), and wrote a single letter to a Deployed Marine serving in harm's way. 

I'll never forget Kevin Shea - his smile, his laugh, his optimism, the glint in his bright blue eyes, and the way he always lit up a room. He left an indelible mark on me and the lives of everyone he touched during his 38 years on this earth. He taught me and others who knew him, through example and his own "joie de vivre," to embrace every day, every hour, every minute like it was our last. 

For Kevin, his Memorial Day, I took time to do something that will touch 64 service members just like him - men and women who made the decision to serve at a time of war because they love our country. As we enter another week of uncertainty and anxiety amid COVID-19, I am asking you to do the same thing, and say “thank you” for the sacrifices they continue to make in service to our nation. 

Here are 3 things you can do to honor them and my good friend, Kevin Shea, 

1. Knit or crochet a scarf/hat for a Deployed Service Member as part of the RED Scarf Challenge
2. Craft a Paracord Survival Bracelet
3. Hand-write a letter or a card

This year will forever change how I think about Memorial Day. No matter where I am in the world, I will spend the day remembering those who died serving and protecting our great nation and the freedoms we enjoy as Americans. At the same time, I will find a way with my actions to honor their memories, too, and lift the spirits of our men and women in uniform deployed around the globe. 

I know that is what Kevin would want me to do.

If you want to learn more about Marine Lieutenant Colonel Kevin Shea, you can view this PBS documentary, called Fallen Hero.