Thank you to all those who attended the Unaccompanied Servicemember/Veteran Burial Service at Barrancas National Cemetery this past week! It was a humbling ceremony, which covered the period May~July 2019, with over 40 names read aloud. This list included 2 active duty servicemembers (who had died recently & had their families present), as well as acknowledging the lives and service of 3 members of the Patriot Guard who had also recently died- 2 of whom were Veterans themselves. One of the surprises during this ceremony came when one of the names read aloud was recognized as a local high school graduate from the 80's. The fact that they were interred without family or others that knew them was a shock, since they had many friends and family nearby. You never know what happens in a person's life that causes them to become separated from those around them; but that again was a wake-up call that this service could be for any one of us at any time in our lives!!! I don't know if this Veteran from our local community was one of the 22 a day; but I sure hope not! It takes just a brief moment of your time to acknowledge that someone is someone; and not a blip on your radar to ignore in the rush of your day! You never know...that smile or hello could be the one thing that helps someone want to live another day! Being invisible is not always a life choice, sometimes its a missed opportunity to grow!