[Semper Mark]

God bless our young warriors who give life for country.

...his family and friends stood arm-in-arm, weeping
on the tarmac...
...and the ones they leave behind.

[freema]

Thank you for the ping, Markos. This set me to sobbing like I haven't sobbed since I was a little girl. A sorely needed release, for myself, I am certain.

The beginning of the story...

On an end table at Laurie Lewkowski's Painesville Township home sits a framed studio portrait of her four children laughing and smiling at one another.

It was a candid moment captured last Christmas, the last time Lewkowski's two sons and two daughters — three of whom either have served or currently serve in the military — were home at the same time.

Shortly after the photo was taken, one of her sons, U.S. Marine Lance Cpl. David Raymond Baker, left to serve his country in Afghanistan.

We did the picture before "our" deployment. It was horrid, because we knew why. I wouldn't let anyone smile. Are we lucky? Are we blessed? No. "We" just survived. Nothing more, nothing less. No injuries even, but scars all around, nonetheless.