Unsung Heroes

The front page of last Sunday’s Fayetteville Observer newspaper featured the story of Specialist Clayton McGarrah of the United States Army, killed at the age of 20 in combat in Afghanistan on July 4^th.  The picture of his young widow standing over his casket stopped my heart for a moment.  I literally had to sit down to read.  I was moved to tears over the story of this young man who so selflessly gave his life while serving his country. 

I expected to hear people in my town talking about it the next day.  At work, or on the radio, and on social networking sites, I waited for talk about the late young Specialist McGarrah.  Instead, I only heard about Lindsay Lohan’s fall from grace and her recent imprisonment.  Others were comparing notes on who they were voting for on America’s Got Talent.  There was chatter galore about Chelsea Clinton’s upcoming wedding, mixed in with the standard reflections on Oprah’s latest guests and her book club’s book of the month.

And it just made me sad.  Specialist McGarrah made the headlines for one day, and then he was forgotten to the world.  I’m sure that some parents put the newspaper in front of their children and said “here, kids, this is who you need to look up to.  This is a real American hero!” But when Monday morning rolled around, and the Sunday paper went to the recycling bin, so did those noble sentiments toward that young  soldier.

The world is full of unsung heroes.  They’re all around us, in our workplaces and schools and communities, sometimes even living under the same roof.  They’re so closeby that we tend to lose sight of them.  I have written about many of my heroes before; my mother, my grandmother, teachers, friends and colleagues who have all made an impact on my life.  Today, I want to tell you about another hero of mine.

Her name is Jaime Jones.  Her smile is brighter than sunshine that always seems to be shining down on her home state of Florida.  Even in pictures, you can see that she just glows.  She has an aura unlike anything I could ever put into words, an inner beauty that shines from the inside out.  To look at her, you would never know the pain and the adversity that she has overcome during the past couple of years.

Two years ago this month, Jaime’s husband Greg was injured in an accident.  The hospital did everything that they could to save his life, but when it became apparent that he would never recover, Jaime made the very difficult decision to honor her husband’s wishes and discontinue life support.  Greg passed away peacefully with his loving wife, and their young daughter at his side.

Imagine, if you will, how hard it must have been for Jaime to tell the love of her life goodbye under those circumstances.  It had only been a few years before that they began their life together with a fairytale wedding.  Then they celebrated the arrival of their first beautiful, healthy child, Kerri Ann.  She was still a toddler on Jaime’s hip when they said goodbye to Greg.

And it was only weeks before Greg died that Jaime learned that she was pregnant again with their second child.  Yes, in the midst of this tragedy, a new baby was on the way. 

I don’t know how she did it.  I don’t know how she survived that year of her life, but she did.  Through the ups and downs of pregnancy, she got up each morning, lovingly cared for her daughter, and even continued to work full time.  On February 13^th, which would have been the 34^th birthday of her late husband, she gave birth to a beautiful baby boy.  She named him after his father, Gregory.  The older he gets, the more he looks like his daddy.

And I still don’t know how she does it.  It can’t be easy to be a young widow and a mother of two small children, with a career and a busy life that includes friends and family, plenty of trips to Disneyworld for her kids, and marathons to run in support of the causes that are close to her heart.  I’ve never seen Jaime have a bad day.  She is always smiling, always positive.  I know there had to have been some dark moments for her over the past couple of years, and times that sadness and sorrow weighed heavy on her heart.  But she overcame, and continues to overcome.  In spite of the tremendous loss that she suffered, she doesn’t look back and question what could have been or what should have been.  She is strength and courage, grace and hope embodied. 

She is my hero.

I know some people who break a fingernail, and it ruins the rest of their day.  I wish those people could meet Jaime Jones.  Every now and then when I’m faced with a tough situation, I find myself slipping into despair.  That’s when I think about Jaime and I remind myself that I have no excuse to let myself go there.  She has shown me the resiliency is within the power of everyone, and that happiness is a choice that we make every single day.

You won’t see Jaime on Orpah or reality TV. You won’t read about her in magazines or in books.  I’m telling you about her because this is how we give our everyday heroes the credit they’re due – we share their stories.

If you have a moment to spare, I hope that you will also take a minute to read more about the story of Specialist Clayton McGarrah at http://fayobserver.com/articles/2010/07/25/1015734. 

I salute all of our unsung heroes – both the living, and those that are living in spirit.  I hope that you’ll post a message below and share the stories of the heroes in your life.