"My grandpa graduated from West Point Army Academy and served as a Lieutenant Colonel in the Vietnam War. He was a man of many words and few words. He always knew what to say in any situation and could make a friend at a drop of a hat. A few years after my Grandma died, while my mom was in college, he remarried and took my step-grandma's daughter and two sons under his wing and loved them like they were his own. Family was everything to him. When I was young he started a tradition that my family still does every Christmas eve. He called it the remembrance, and after dinner we go around the table and everyone says something that they remember about a loved one that has passed. He said that remembering our passed loved ones helps us love the people that are still in our lives more. He was and still is the reason my family is as close as we are. From a young age I always knew that I wanted to be just like him. I never wanted to do anything like be a fireman or an astronaut. I wanted to be in the Army and I wanted a family of my own that I could inspire like he inspired everyone around him. I recently graduated from college and I'm a month away from basic training for the Army. I know his memory will help me to be a better person and I dedicate every great accomplishment in my life to that memory and him." - John from Decatur, GA
