Here’s To All The Idaho Veterans Whom We Will Be Without On Xmas

Along with the holiday season also comes great sadness for many who will be missing loved ones who have passed on recently. It's particularly tough when the veterans in our families leave us because they signed up to defend our country so we can enjoy the merriment of Christmas Day among our loved ones.

To those of you out there who will be celebrating your first holiday without a mother, father, brother, sister, son, or daughter, I wish you the best and a very merry Christmas.

This Christmas will mark the second one since my dad passed away. Although he was born in Minnesota, he spent the final six years of his life as a Twin Falls, Idaho resident. He was a Vietnam veteran, having flown helicopters into war zones to transport the wounded back to base. An explosion in a foxhole took 70 percent of his hearing in one ear and also claimed the lives of a few close friends of his.

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After my father died, I inherited many of his military possessions. His Vietnam Veteran's commemorative knife hangs on my wall, as does the sword he was issued in the Marine Corps in the sixties. I keep his military identification and discharge papers in a clear case in the dining room. These are the most important possessions of his to me because they signify the sacrifices he made to assure me a safer, and better life.

My dad passed away in Twin Falls on President's Day of 2022. He is buried at Snake River Canyon Memorial Cemetery in Buhl. He was buried with full military honors.

On December 25, many Idahoans will awake and be immediately hit with the stark reminder that their loved ones will not be joining them for Christmas breakfast, the unwrapping of gifts, or a warm fire. To those of you out there who will be celebrating your first holiday without a mother, father, brother, sister, son, or daughter, I wish you the best and a very merry Christmas.