Yesterday, I attended an event, "Walk to Remember." It was a walk to honor the memory of Sergeant Bryan Hall who was killed exactly one year ago yesterday by a suicide bomber in Mosul, Iraq. My friend, his sister Kristi, put the event together and as sad as the symbolism of the date was, it was also an amazing day as well. Bagpipers played along the parade route. There was a color guard kicking off the walk, as well as renditions of The Star Spangled Banner and Amazing Grace. Outback Steakhouse provided a huge lunch for everyone-at their cost. Talking to the store manager later, he said, "It's just the right thing to do." At the start of the planning, Kristi was afraid there would be few people attending. Half of the money raised will go into an account to fund the education of Bryan's toddler daughter, Addison. The other half will go into a scholarship fund to be given to a graduating senior from the high school Bryan attended. Interested seniors must submit a paper explaining the importance of freedom and what it means to them. People attending the walk numbered almost 1,000. There were of course family, friends and coworkers of the Hall family, but there were also law enforcement, veterans, veterans from Vietnam and Iraq. There were groups, mothers of soldiers currently deployed as well as families of fallen soldiers.
There were people walking in honor of their loved ones. I was honored to be a part of it.
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