Widow of Navy SEAL killed in Afghanistan 15 years ago tells story of grief and acceptance

Good share, brother.

There is a duality of love. I makes you cry and makes you happy. Nothing is said about the pilots but they are the best in the world, and will do everything in their power to support the ground troops.

BASED ON A TRUE STORY:

An old American widow traveled to Vietnam on a pilgrimage to see the exact location where her young husband died during the war. Dean and Hattie fell in love in high school and were inseparable and married upon graduation from college, but he was drafted and shortly afterwards and left for Vietnam. They were married and in love as they talked about a rich future together, but the bells of war were ringing, and they delayed the inevitable until it was almost time to say goodbye. She meticulously packed his luggage and fretted but did not show it. A yellow taxi arrived and they embraced, and said they loved the other, and he whispered soothing words in her ear. Then he was gone.

The air was hot and stifling as if a knife could cut through the humidity. There was some welcome respite from the hot sun under the canopy of a large tree. The Vietnamese guide was none other than the NVA soldier who witnessed Dean’s Huey crash and his death. He described her husband's dying moments with minute morbid details. She had strong ambivalent feelings for the old Vietnamese soldier. He was the enemy, but yet he would help bring a semblance of understanding to her. Something she sought for such a long time.

Over the years Hattie had remarried and started a family, but she wanted closure. Final closure. I suppose she still loved him and got just enough of him in her life that he would always be in her heart. However, she wanted what was impossible, more time with him. He was like a beautiful song she heard, but heard just part of it, and no more. She wished and wanted to listen to the rest of the song. Dean would be stored safely in her heart until she becomes no more. Then perhaps, they can explore the universe together. Young and free, in perpetuity, with no time limits.