What might have been ... A day to remember the fallen

Do you remember Sgt. Robert Davis? Bob was 23 when he died in Afghanistan back on Aug. 23, 2005. A roadside bomb exploded underneath the Humvee he was riding in. He left behind his wife, his high school sweetheart, Mandy. And a baby who was just a few months old. He had just bought a home in Jackson and had planned to go to college.

A year later, Jeremy Shank, just 18, died when he encountered enemy forces. Jeremy was a well-liked young man who played high school football and enjoyed hunting; as legend would have it, he once shot a deer from 300 yards. As part of his service, he was trained to speak Arabic. He was engaged to be married. His older brother mourned his passing by making a movie.

In 2008, Staff Sgt. Bradley Skelton, 40, of Gordonville died by roadside bomb. He was a storyteller, a comedian who liked to fish, play cards with his buddies. He volunteered for another deployment so a married soldier would not have to go back to Iraq.

Monday we will pause to remember those who have given their lives for our country. Sometimes, we give collective thanks without thinking of the specific sacrifices. Each man or woman who died left someone behind. They left their futures, their relationships on the battlegrounds. Their children, their siblings, their mothers and fathers all carry on without them. They deserve our thoughts and prayers. They deserve this day, too.

The list of war dead in our county might be longer than you think.

From World War I through the Vietnam War, more than 120 men and women from Cape Girardeau County were killed. Each soldier had a name and a family.

By all means, enjoy your family on Memorial Day tomorrow. Enjoy a barbecue or some time on the lake. We're sure our fallen soldiers would like that, because they enjoyed those things, too. But let's all take time to remember the lives that were lost on our behalf; and let's not forget the lives that go on with sadness and emptiness, all because a brave soul had the courage to train, take up arms and put their bodies between us and those who would do us harm.

God bless our fallen soldiers. And God Bless those who must carry on without them.