We spent our Memorial Day weekend in Washington D.C.. We attended the TAPS (Tragedy Assistance Program Services, www.taps.org) National Conference and visited Heath’s grave at Arlington National Cemetery.  The conference was a time were we could gather with other families like ours…families that lost loved ones in the war.  What an awesome experience.  The boys had their own mentor that spent the entire weekend with them and Melissa and I attended workshops to help us with our grief.  We made new friends and hopefully can help others in time from what we are learned.

We spent a lot of time at Heath’s grave.  As we were there, we met many families who came in town to visit their fallen heroes graves.  Who would have thought Arlington would also be a place of healing for us as we connected with these other families through our grief and pain. 

We ended our Memorial Day by attending the National Memorial Day Ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery.  President Bush addressed the audience in the ampitheatre at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Laura Bush and Lynn Chenney were also in attendance. 

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We traveled to San Francisco the weekend of May 11-14 to visit Heath’s friends Joseph Poquiz and Travis Dodson.  We had a great time visiting with Joseph who was one of Heath’s best friends from Kanoehe Bay and served with Heath in Iraq.  We spent time withTravis who was from Heath’s unit and lost both his legs while serving in Iraq.  We visited with him at the VA hospital were he was recovering and presented him with a special citation from Canton’s Mayor Creighton honoring his service as well as special items from Canton’s Chamber of Commerce.  His spirit was amazing.  You can visit www.travisdodson.com to track his recovery.

Ashton’s spring program at Worley Elementary was to honor his brother Heath.  The evening was a celebration of his life and it was an honor that the school thought to do this for both Ashton and Heath.  The school had a plaque made to recognize Heath’s sacrifice.  A picture of Heath and  the plaque will be displayed at the elementary school Heath attended.

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