To the men and women who have lost a spouse in the service
of our nation, or from a service-related cause:
First and foremost, I wish to express my sincere condolences
for the loss of your loved one. I have suffered a similar loss in my own life. I
wish you strength in your grief and speed in your recovery. And I wish to
invite you to be a member in our organization.
You may wonder if you are a good fit with us. I am here to
assure you that you are. The members of our organization come from all walks of
life. They are united in that they know the special pain that comes from losing
their spouses. But I also think that they are united in something more: a
desire to keep living in the face of their loss.
And I know that desire—to keep living—is often difficult to
find. In my case, my late husband was murdered in 2005 by a subordinate in a
needless and preventable death. For me, the world felt so evil, it was hard to
bear it.
But I am also a mother, and I found purpose in that. I have
dedicated myself to finding justice for my husband by working to protect
members of our armed forces from the criminals in their ranks. I have found new
love in my life, and I celebrate the liberation that comes with it.
Yet it is still not easy for me, and I expect that it is not
easy for you either.
And that’s where I think the Gold Star Wives of America can
help. We are an organization dedicated to serving our members—to stand with
them in the face of their adversity, because it is an adversity that we know
all too well.
It’s really that simple. We know the road you travel, because
we travel it ourselves. So please, if you haven’t already, sign up to become a member. Come to one of our chapter meetings.
We will greet you with the love, appreciation and support that you deserve.
We will greet you with the love, appreciation and support that you deserve.
Sincerely,
Siobhan Esposito
Vice President
Potomac Chapter of the Gold Star Wives of America, Inc.
Vice President
Potomac Chapter of the Gold Star Wives of America, Inc.
Siobhan:
ReplyDeleteThank all of you who are working to reestablish a wonderful website. I have no talents to help with this! First time I have viewed it!
Could you explain how to use the "comment as." I used anonymous because I didn't know what the rest meant!
Edie Smith
Hello Edie,
ReplyDeleteYou don't have to "log in" to publish your comment; it will post as yours just did. But if you do log in, your name will show up as mine does here.
And please know, I have an adversarial relationship with technology, and it makes me laugh that anyone is asking me for technology help. We may end up like Thelma and Louise here, but if we do, I hope our exit is equally grand ;-)