Eddie Jeffers: Eternal

..."But my son doesn’t want to be remembered sadly. He would want us all to be smiling, to remember him skateboarding, working at Wendy’s, playing in his band ‘Fighting the Vanna White Influence," she said. "And that he liked beer and hated drinking girls. He loved his wife Stephanie ... And he wanted children - he was going to try to go stateside as a recruiter after his tour was over in January. He was the oldest of six children, and had a stepsister." (source)

Those are the words that Eddie Jeffers' mum, Tina, said about her beloved son one year ago. At that time, many wrote about Eddie. If you don't know Eddie, you really should take the time to get to know this remarkable young American.

Knee Deep in the Hooah has a piece up which links to Gazing at the Flag.

Hope Rides Alone, Remembering Sgt. Eddie Jeffers

Posted on September 24th, 2008 In my own particular idiom Claire

Gazing at the Flag has posted this wonderful tribute and memorial at VA Joe’s for Sgt. Jeffers on the one year mark of his death. I wanted to cross post it here, and encourage everyone of you to read the stories linked to below. Keep Sgt. Jeffers memory alive by sharing his words with others. Please say a prayer for his family, and keep them in your prayers as they live with this loss every moment. Any messages left for his family can be left in the comment section and I will forward them to GAF who can forward them on to the family.

Find that here. You will also find links there for some of the original postings. I also wrote about - and to...lol - Eddie at the time. On Tanker Bros, you can find my pieces about Eddie here, here , here.

The last link there is a piece by Eddie's dad, Dave, and if you read nothing else today, THAT one is worth the time.

As Eddie proved, his own words are timeless; his words will always remain part of his eternal legacy. No words that I could ever write, could do justice to this son, brother, husband, friend, writer, warrior, angel.

Today, during the crazy political shenanigans, spare a moment to give thanks for men like Eddie Jeffers and his family.

Do Not Weep For Me
Do not weep for me, for I have lived...
I have joined my hand with my fellow's hands,
to leave the planet better than I found it.

Do not weep for me, for I have loved and been loved by
my family, by those I love who loved me back.
For I never knew a stranger, only friends.

Do not weep for me.
When you feel the ocean spray upon your face,
I am there.
When your heart beats faster at the dolphin's leaping grace,
I am there.
When you reach out to touch another's heart,
as now I touch God's face,
I am there.
Do not weep for me. I am not gone.
- Anon

As Eddie's dad said on his site last year, in his post titled Hope Rides Eternal:

“He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” (Revelation 21:4)(source)