Recently, while walking into a local pub to enjoy the Bruins beat the Canadians in Hockey, I was confronted with a mass of emails, texts and chat requests which brought my enjoyable mood towards somber.
I was informed that a classmate from High School was murdered by an Afghan soldier at the Kabul Airport.
In a war that has gone on for 10 years, I have never known anyone to make the ultimate sacrifice. Surely, I have numerous friends and classmates that have walked the terrain of Afghanistan and the desert in Iraq, but up until now, they have all come home.
Upon hearing of the passing of Major David Brodeur, I was of course shocked, while my thoughts brought me back to the days of high school and the crazy things we all did in the name of fun. I grew up in a small town, graduated with 154 people, and our class was like a family.
I remembered that the graduation seemed like forever, parties that went on for weeks, and the looming college move-in that many were anxious to execute, including Dave who was to head to the Air Force Academy. He and a few others were going to head to the military, to which my internal thoughts yielded, "They have balls!"
I have always looked up to servicemen and servicewomen as the people who do things I would never dare to achieve. They are brave, smart and calculated in every move in order to protect the things that I celebrate every day. (Mostly the Free Speech thing!) They were also people at a distance. I would hear on the television that a soldier was killed in Iraq, or Afghanistan, or Somalia, or anywhere, but it always seemed like a number.
When reality struck last week, I read of a friend from high school who got married and started a family and continued his service in the Air Force getting promoted on a regular basis. It made me reflect on my own life and ambitions. But it also made me reflect on how little I have done to let those who I have the ultimate respect for, know how much I appreciate their service. It also made me think about how I execute my chores on a regular basis.
What if soldiers procrastinated like I did? What if they kept delaying making decisions? What if they decided to sleep in on a regular basis?
I, along with many of my clients, can do more.
I endeavor to do more on a regular basis. We have opportunities to make change in our ways around the world, and this is not the time to procrastinate. Together, we need to keep up the challenge of "Doing well, by Doing Good."
But now, we need to do it more effectively, more efficiently, and with incredible precision.
Thank you Major Brodeur for your service! Thank you for your friendship! May God Bless your family!
Read more about Major David L. Broduer