The Pain Of A Gold Star Father

By Semperpapa

Earlier this evening, as I listen to a radio talk show while at work, the host of the program, the Great Mark Levin, conducted a phone interview with a Gold Star Father.
The name of the man is irrelevant in this context, but he lost his son in Iraq. The reason I am saying that his name is irrelevant is because I heard a man that spoke for all Gold Star families.

Even after years have gone by, one can still hear the enormous pain in the man's voice, pain a father must feel when the natural course of events is reversed and a child needs to be buried before a parent.
The interview, which really amounted to a monologue, was as emotional as it could get, mostly because of the subject matter.
Mr. Levin asked the man about his thoughts on the Benghazi massacre.

The answer was pungent. The man said that what the families of those murdered in Benghazi got was the famous knock at the door that all who have family members deployed dreads most of all: the representative of the Military branch of the loved one and a chaplain notifying the family of the worst.

As the father of a Marine who spent 7 months in Afghanistan, I can relate to the anxiety felt every second of those seven months for the possible 'knock at the door'. It was an anxiety that my daughter-in-law felt, my wife and I felt and my daughter and son-in-law felt.
My son came home safe and sound, but in so many instances, too many really, the dreaded home visit has occurred and that was the pain of the Gold Star Father.
He compared the knock the families of the murdered in Benghazi received with the one he received when they came to tell him his son had fallen, but he added that in his case what followed made all the difference.

In his case, they got to meet president George W. Bush who showed genuine sorrow for their loss and who took the time to explain to them why he had had to make the awful decision to send young men and women in harms way. He showed compassion.
But in the case of Benghazi, the man expressed his sorrow for the families of the victims because, to make things worse, they received no compassion from the Commander-in-Chief, a promise from the sec. of State of punishment for a film maker that everyone knew had nothing to do with the murders and a vice president who made vulgar and highly inappropriate statements.

The families of those who were murdered in Benghazi demand answers regarding what happened on September 11, 2012. The are entitled to honest and straight forward answers.

So here was one man with a forever pain that, as a father, I can only begin to understand. He spoke for all who have lost a child in the service of the country and who anguish in search of reasons and closure.
It was a very emotional interview and it was my fortune that by the time it came on most of my co-workers had already left, as it would have been embarrassing to have anyone see my tears.

From the pain of a Gold Star Father we should all learn something: that so many have sacrificed greatly for this Nation, that so many still are sacrificing and that our debt of gratitude for those who have passed, their families and all those who have served is one we should honor by conducting ourselves in a respectful and honorable way.

Just my thoughts!