Memorial Garden

Any day now my nephew Matthew will become a daddy for the first time. While the birth of a child is a miracle in itself, there is a bigger miracle at work here.

You see, Matthew is a veteran. A member of the Marines Special Forces, he was the one in our family who served tours in both Iraq (his unit saw the first action after 9/11) and Afghanistan. The fact that he survived both when many of his comrades were injured or died, is a miracle. To make it home, get married and have a family was not something everyone could do.

He is lucky and he is blessed.

We all are.

It brought to mind a memorial garden Jim and I saw when we were in Boston this fall. It was a touching tribute to the fallen soldiers of those conflicts.

The Memorial Garden is located between the Paul Revere statue and the Old North Church -- a highly visited area of Boston. A non-engraved dog tag is hung to represent each death.

That's just too many, if you ask me. And a stark reminder that our family -- between tours of duty by two nephews, Matt and Tony -- is extremely lucky we don't have to hang one there. Thank the Lord!