Saying good-bye to one of our nation’s heroes

Volunteering means the world to me. One of the many benefits includes all the wonderful people in my life I might not otherwise meet. Sometimes those are my fellow volunteers, and other times, it is the actual people I’m volunteering for.

Through the USO, I’ve been honored to support our troops, particularly our Wounded Warriors recovering at Walter Reed.  Time and time again, these remarkable men and women have inspired me with their bravery, strength, and commitment to defending our nation. In particular there are a few I’m lucky enough to call my friends as a result of volunteering with them on so many occasions and really getting to know them.

Tonight, I learned one of those heroes that I’ve dealt poker to through the USO passed away last month due to heart failure. Alex was a double-amputee that survived an IED explosion overseas and still considered serving in the Army one of the best decisions he ever made. I just remember him always smiling, being funny and a total flirt.

For me, hearing this news is frustrating not just because he is gone, but because I didn’t know about it until now, more than a month later. A big reason I think for that is I’ve been so busy lately volunteering with Pets2Vets and not dealing poker as regularly as I used to with the USO.

Second, it’s hard because this is the first time someone I’ve known through volunteering at Walter Reed died in the years I’ve been volunteering there. Of course, I had just spent a few hours at Arlington Cemetery for Veterans Day, including the section where our post-9/11 heroes are buried, and I had no idea. I definitely would have paid my respects personally to his grave and I’m already planning another trip there this weekend to visit him.

While I understand there was nothing I could do to protect this Soldier who passed away so suddenly, it absolutely breaks my heart to know he is gone. I wish I had known sooner. I wish I had the chance just once more to tell him how incredible he was; a chance to thank him for protecting us all and for being my friend. Above all else, I wish I had the chance to say good-bye.

This whole situation reminds me how hard volunteering can be when it comes to devoting time. Although I want to, I can’t be everywhere at once.  There are a dozen organizations out there I’ve volunteered with that I want to continue to be hands on with and help out in every way possible. Even more, there are countless other foundations I wish I could get involved with. Yet, supporting one takes away from supporting another. It really makes me feel as though I’m never doing enough.

But I know I must keep trying. Otherwise I’ll miss the chance to meet great people like Alex. And I couldn’t bear the thought of not having him in my life, even if it was all too briefly.