"I don't think I will forget the details of the death of Army National Guard Cpl. Nathan Goodiron, who died in Afghanistan. I attended the funeral. His parents, Paul and Harriet, are friends. Paul is a Vietnam War veteran who served in the Navy from 1969 to 1972.
Cpl. Goodiron, 23, was only a few months from completing his tour in Afghanistan. He was killed on Thanksgiving Day when his vehicle was struck by a rocket-propelled grenade. Two of Paul's relatives were in the vehicle with him and told Paul the details. Paul, in turn, told me, and those details have stayed with me.
Paul is a spiritual man, and that seemed to carry him through his grief.
Harriet grieved hard and still holds unto her son, but she, too, is a strong spiritual woman.
Master Sgt. Woodrow Keeble (Buffalo), a Sisseton-Wahpeton Dakota man, soon will be awarded the Medal of Honor posthumously. He died after the war, partly of war-related injuries, I was told.
I talked with his son, Russ Hawkins, and he told me Keeble's story.
He was an exceptionally brave and honorable man of both World War II and the Korean War. It seems he was a man without fear, a man who was a true hero.
These men were not the only heroes. There are men and women farmers, factory workers, clerks who live everyday lives and who have gone through the unimaginable horrors of war and maintained mental well-being. Those both living and dead should be honored. "
Get the Story:Dorreen Yellow Bird: Remember all heroes Memorial Day (The Grand Forks Herald 5/26)
pwpwd More Dorreen Yellow Bird:
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