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Thursday, March 29, 2012

A Sad Day

Today has been a sad day for the Strike Eagle community, as word quickly spread that a pilot lost his life in a crash yesterday while on deployment.

I don't know him personally, though the community is small and we have many mutual friends.

I know that there is a 4 year old boy and a 2 year old girl who will grow up without their daddy. I know that there is a wife who recently said goodbye to her husband, much the way I did to mine in September, who never expected that he wouldn't be coming home. And there is a squadron from Idaho that has to stay the course for the next 6 months while knowing that the "welcome home" at the end will be very bittersweet indeed. 

The F-15E community will come together for the family. There will be scholarship funds for the kids and meals that arrive to their kitchen. But their lives will never be the same again.

There is a house I can see out of my window where this family used to live, and there is another home around the corner in our neighborhood where a few years ago yet another wife received that dreaded knock on the door.

Most of the time I don't think about what Josh does as being dangerous.
But on days like these I remember.

5 comments:

Taylor said...

How sad. Praying for that family. Thank you for the huge sacrifice you guys make for our country.

Christina said...

I am so sorry to hear about each story like this one. I agree with Taylor...thank you for all that you do, Josh and family.

Meg said...

Sorry to hear about this. AF, it seems, very rarely is affected by deaths on deployments. Mostly you hear about Army and Marines. It makes it even more heart wrenching.

Also, I saw this on another blogger's page as well, so I do believe you guys live on the same base (Mountain Home maybe? Only one I know in Idaho). Her blog is Loving and Leaving on a Jet Plane if you want to check it out. There's another, too, I do believe called That [Officer's] Wife who is also out there. ...and no one is in Wyoming with me. Ha!

Anonymous said...

My heart hurts so badly for them and my chest feels crushed when I think of how his wife is feeling. I will forever consider the Eagle community family, and will be praying for them constantly.

Jen mcd

Lisa Stepi said...

I am so sorry to hear this. I'll be praying for this family.