A Fitting Tribute to a Fallen Soldier – Colleen Seidel Honors the Memory of Her Cousin, 1st LT Robert A. Seidel, III

We are fast approaching Veterans’ Day. It is important for those of us enjoying the comforts we often take for granted here in the U.S. to remember those who serve – and those who served to the point of making the ultimate sacrifice. I find that having a human face on which to focus helps me to have a realistic sense of what it is costing us - in terms of lost lives and shattered families - to fight the insurgencies in southwest Asia. Behind each news report of casualties in Iraq and Afghanistan are personal stories like the one I share with you below.

This past June, I shared with readers of The White Rhino Report a moving story of the wedding of Socrates and Emily Rosenfeld that featured a moving tribute to the memory of Robert “Sly” Seidel.

http://whiterhinoreport.blogspot.com/search?q=Sly+osprey

Rob’s cousin, Colleen, recently wrote her own fitting tribute to “Robby” for her school newspaper, the Pitts News, at the University of Pittsburgh. With the family’s permission, I encourage you to read Colleen’s eloquent tribute to a special young man.

http://media.www.pittnews.com/media/storage/paper879/news/2007/10/25/Opinion/A.Proper.Eulogy.For.A.Brave.Soldier.Cousin.Friend-3055030.shtml

As Veterans’ Day approaches, I urge you to go out of your way to thank a veteran and the family members of veterans who sacrifice so much for the rest of us. Tell him or her how proud you are of who they are and what they have done.

Al