I seemed to run into a lot of tear-inspiring items today. So, grab a tissue and let's get it over with all at once...
A hero who fell in battle:
It’s the result of a considered decision, made in a moment of solitude and earnestly committed to over and over again. It’s a decision that you’ll go down fighting. A decision that your own life is not more valuable than the lives of your team. You can live each day hoping that the prepared for moment never occurs. But when it does, you recognize it, remember what you promised, take stock of all you have and step into the breach, with the full knowledge of what it will cost you: Everything.
Those left behind:
Gunner, a bomb-sniffing dog mustered out of the Marines for canine post-traumatic stress disorder, has found a new home with Deb and Dan Dunham, whose Marine son died in Iraq protecting the men beside him.
Beneficiaries of their sacrifice:
[h/t to Cassandra for the 2nd link]
