I wanted to share this with you...On veterans day i decided to go down to the Arlington West Cemetary in Santa Monica..Every Sunday they put up as many crosses as there are casualties of American soldiers and it is daunting and sad and maddening and so important for us to remember that we are living in a world at war and there are people dying every day....i was struck at my place in the world and the fact that I am not over there, scared out of my mind, fighting for my life and trying to make sense of everything going on...i can't imagine. When I took these photos i had no intention of doing anything with them, but when i got home i decided that I could at least try and share this photo with the family and friends of this soldier who I did not know...I did it to recognize, that this person is important in this world and that there are those who are remembering him in many places. This is the email I recieved from his best friend Chris, who is also in the Army and who lost Paul and is now celebrating him every day:
Justin,
Hi, my name is Chris. I am the President of the MSG Paul Karpowich Foundation. I really appreciate you sending this our way. I think your photo is AMAZING, along with others of yours that I checked out.
Can we work something out regarding the photo? I would love to post it on our website for people to see. It could be as simple as a link to your website if you would like. Please let me know if we can work something out. Paul was my best friend and that picture really strikes a chord with me and others.
Sorry for the delay, I was out of town with the Army for a while. Thanks again, hope to hear back from you."
I did not expect to hear anything back and when i did, I stopped and realized how important it is to give one small gift to those who have gone before us in this world. To hear from Chris that this was his best friend made me extremely sad, because my best friend and I were in the middle of a road trip and thought if I lost my best friend I would not know what to do in his absence....
I am dedicating this photo and others to Paul and Chris...two best friends who have not parted even in death and for us to all remember our best friends every day. Thank you Chris for giving me a gift in your service to our country and to me, but more importantly, thank you for reminding me to embrace my best friend.
Be safe
Gus...my best friend.
4 comments:
WOW! The water works are streaming down my face. So moving... no need to comment further, as you have said it all.
So beautiful, and what a great message. When the urge strikes you to GIVE in any way, DO IT.
such a beautiful post...thank you.
i love this. my baby brother was in this war and it ripped me up. i can't even imagine what it would have been to lose him. it's a gorgeous almost ghostly photo. quiet. beautiful.
Post a Comment