Happy Birthday Steven...and Thank You

When I was working at CBS3 I made it a personal mission to make certain that we did not forget the men and women fighting and dieing for this country in Iraq and Afghanistan.

As part of that mission, I interviewed many Mom's and Dad's who lost a son or a daughter to a sniper, IED, an ambush or a fire fight.

Their pain is deep and eternal.

For many it is difficult to go on. Holidays go unrecognized because of the pain. Other dates become monumentally important - the birthday - enlistment day - the day your child died.

One of the women I had the great honor of meeting and befriending is Bobbie McGowan from Newark, Delaware. A school teacher and proud mother of her daughter Michaela. In March of 2005, her only son Steven was taken by an explosive device buried in a dirt road outside of Ramadi, Iraq.

Bobbie's apartment in Newark is now a shrine to Steven. His uniform and boots are encased in an armoire. Pictures of Steven are everywhere.

And then there are the Beanie Babies. Steven handed out so many Beanie Babies to the Iraqi children that he became known as "The Beanie Baby Soldier." To this day, the tiny stuffed animals are distributed in his name in Iraq.

Today is Steven's Birthday.

People who love Bobbie reach out to her on this day. One of those people is Jason Hagan. He served with Steven in Iraq and was there when he died. Jason retrieved the body.

He also made a battlefield promise with Steven that if anything happened to either one of them, the survivor would make certain the other's Mom was being cared for.

For the last four years, Steven has kept that promise. Jason lives in California, but still dotes on Bobbie from afar.

Today Jason sent Bobbie a digital flower. This is the note she wrote:

October 11, 2009

Jason Hagan sent me a beautiful picture of a rose this morning. It looks like a perfect pink rose. I remembered Bette Midler had a song titled “The Rose,” so I looked up the lyrics. Some really touched me again.

It’s the heart afraid of breaking
that never learns to dance.
It’s the dream afraid of waking
that never takes the chance.
It’s the one who won’t be taken,
who cannot seem to give,
and the soul afraid of dyin’
that never learns to live.

When the night has been too lonely
and the road has been too long...
just remember in the winter
far beneath the winter snows
lies the seed that with the {Son’s} love
in the spring becomes the rose.

Our road has been lonely and long, but as the change in the lyrics I made reflects, I believe God’s love will end our winter and we will have our spring and our roses when we hold our children once again.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, STEVE!

Love, Da Momma

Please remember Steven McGowan on this day and all of the men and women who have given their lives in service to country.

Remember that there are still men and women serving this country and in harm's way overseas.

And remember the Mothers, Fathers, Wives, Husbands and children who have also sacrificed for this country. They have been wounded by war in a way we can't comprehend.

To learn more about Steven McGowan and his legacy - click here.

To donate Beanie Babies in Steven's name - click here.

If you would like to send a message to Bobbie, either leave a comment here or send me an email at LarryMendte@Gmail.Com. I will make certain she gets it.

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