I mentioned briefly in passing in another thread that a neighbor had handed down a very nice winter coat to me recently. It was missing buttons, though, so I had to purchase some new ones and sew them on. During my "second honeymoon" with Mr. Froggie this week, we just happened to meet our neighbor in the store, and he identified himself as the giver of the coat-- until then, I did not know who had dropped it off, as I was not home at the time, and my children did not recognize the neighbor-- and in that meeting, my neighbor told me the story of this coat. It turns out to be a very special coat indeed, and so I must honor the original owner by sharing the story here:
The coat belonged to my neighbor's cousin, whom he was very close to, and called "sister." This woman was a mechanic in the U.S. Army, serving in Iraq. Some of her brothers in arms' vehicle was hit by an IED. She was sent out to retrieve the vehicle. While out on her recovery mission, a sniper shot her in the back of the neck, and killed her.
Upon this fallen soldier's death, her personal belongings were distributed among family members. This coat was claimed by my neighbor, who has generously passed it on to me. And it is a very nice coat, indeed, I must tell you- suede leather lined with fake fur trim, and a hood! I assured my neighbor that now I know who it belonged to, and what she was doing when she died, I will take care of the coat and cherish it always, to honor this soldier's memory.
Just had to share.
The coat belonged to my neighbor's cousin, whom he was very close to, and called "sister." This woman was a mechanic in the U.S. Army, serving in Iraq. Some of her brothers in arms' vehicle was hit by an IED. She was sent out to retrieve the vehicle. While out on her recovery mission, a sniper shot her in the back of the neck, and killed her.
Upon this fallen soldier's death, her personal belongings were distributed among family members. This coat was claimed by my neighbor, who has generously passed it on to me. And it is a very nice coat, indeed, I must tell you- suede leather lined with fake fur trim, and a hood! I assured my neighbor that now I know who it belonged to, and what she was doing when she died, I will take care of the coat and cherish it always, to honor this soldier's memory.
Just had to share.
