The Marine's Hymn

First to fight for right and freedom
And to keep our honor clean;
We are proud to claim the title
Of United States Marine.

The night before the burial of her husband 2nd Lt. James Cathey of the United States Marine Corps, killed in Iraq, Katherine Cathey refused to leave the casket, asking to sleep next to his body for the last time. The Marines made a bed for her, tucking in the sheets below the flag. Before she fell asleep, she opened her laptop computer and played songs that reminded her of him, and one of the Marines asked if she wanted them to continue standing watch as she slept. "I think it would be kind of nice if you kept doing it" she said. "I think that's what he would have wanted".

This is an excerpt from a series by a pair of journalists who were chronicling the stories of families who lost loved ones in Iraq. I found the picture so moving, I kept coming back to it. When I looked into the whole series, and this story in particular, it moved me to tears.

There was a book I read for a college class once called "Canek" that was about South American culture, particularly the ancient Mayan cultures. At one point in the story, they talked about needing to send men off to war, and so they sent their young men off to fight, but these men were young and foolish and they ran and did not fight. And so they sent their felons and prisoners, who were horrified at what they saw and threw down their arms and ran. Finally there was no one left to fight except the husbands and fathers. And these men fought with honor and bravery and fierceness - because they had something worth defending. That thought has never left me, and I have kept that book all these years.

To love another human being so unselfishly that you would give your life for them is a hard concept to understand, I think, until you become a parent. To love our country and our liberties and our ideals enough to be willing to give your life for them is an even greater commitment. And this is why we need to honor our Servicemen and Women, and support their families, and teach our children patriotism.

And on this Valentines Day, I see no greater illustration of love. A man who died because he loved his country, and his wife who so visibly loved him that she spent her last possible night with him, and the Marine who watched over them both. What the photo does not show you, what you find out if you read the whole article that goes with this photo, is that she is pregnant with his son.