{"id":95941,"date":"2020-02-17T10:36:38","date_gmt":"2020-02-17T14:36:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/valorguardians.com\/blog\/?p=95941"},"modified":"2022-01-13T20:31:50","modified_gmt":"2022-01-14T01:31:50","slug":"missing-memories","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.azuse.cloud\/?p=95941","title":{"rendered":"MISSING MEMORIES (Emotional Content Warning)"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Interesting perspective and a well-done article.<\/p>\n

Quietly, and with little fanfare, the 16th anniversary of Aaron Weaver\u2019s tragic death passed, but his memory continues to live on throughout friends and family, with one exception.<\/p>\n

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That of his daughter, Savannah, who was 18 months when Weaver was killed while on a Black Hawk helicopter en route to Baghdad for a checkup when the craft was shot down south of Fallujah, Iraq. The Jan. 8 crash killed eight other soldiers. As an Army Ranger, Weaver survived the October 1993 battle of Mogadishu in Somalia that was recounted in the book and film, \u201cBlack Hawk Down.\u201d He helped save a buddy\u2019s life and is featured in a documentary on the battle.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI feel like I\u2019m not used to expressing how it changed me and how I felt,\u201d said the now 17-year-old Weaver, who will graduate this May from Citrus High. \u201cI always have people telling me, \u2018Your father was an amazing person.\u2019 I never get to share my side.\u201d<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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That is until she had to pen an essay as part of her application for Florida State University. The topic: \u201cWhat formed your identity?\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Weaver, a three-sport standout for the Hurricanes, could think of nothing better than the death of her father.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cMy father\u2019s death was the main inspiration for who I am today,\u201d Weaver explained. \u201cIt was definitely emotional; something happened to me, but I never talk about it in-depth or wrote about it, until now.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Weaver often hears many stories about him, from her mom, Nancy, her extended family and his friends.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cShe struggles with him, to remember him,\u201d said her mom, Nancy.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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To put it simply, Weaver said, \u201cI don\u2019t remember him.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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It\u2019s hard, Weaver said, because people tell her stories of her dad and \u201cnothing sparks a memory.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cI hear all of these amazing things,\u201d she said, \u201cand I never got to experience how amazing he was for myself.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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While Weaver cannot remember his voice, his appearance or even the way he walked, Nancy said their daughter shares many of his traits and characteristics.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cOh Lord,\u201d Nancy quipped. \u201cShe is extremely driven, she excels in classes (a 4.6 grade point average); she plays three varsity sports. Whatever she puts her mind to, she achieves, which is a lot like her father.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cShe is very confident. She holds herself to maybe a higher standard than most kids her age.\u201d<\/p>\n

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By the time she graduates in May, Weaver will be close to having earned her associate\u2019s degree, before she\u2019ll make the trek to Tallahassee in the fall where she will continue her post-secondary education. Weaver plans to pursue a degree in psychology, with aspirations to become a neuropsychologist<\/strong>.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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While just a handful of people have read her essay, that all changed Saturday at the 15th annual Purple Heart Ceremony on Saturday at the Citrus County Fairgrounds Auditorium, which was hosted by the Aaron A. Weaver Chapter 776 Military Order of the Purple Heart. The organization was formed in April 2004, three months after Weaver\u2019s death. By August 2004, the Chapter was officially chartered under the hand and seal of the National Commander, Military Order of the Purple Heart of the United States of America Inc. as Aaron A. Weaver Chapter No.\u00a0 776.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cWe\u2019ve been active in it since moving back in 2008,\u201d Nancy said, noting the organization had reached out to her way back then. \u201cWe\u2019ve participated in activities, fundraisers or public education about the military.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Those in the organization have watched Weaver grow up.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cThis Purple Heart group has done so much for our family,\u201d Nancy said. \u201cAnytime we\u2019ve needed something, they\u2019ve stepped up and provided.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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So after Weaver completed her essay, Nancy shared it with three members of the Chapter. Those members asked if she would share it during the annual event.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cWe all felt it was important, because they\u2019ve kept Aaron\u2019s memory alive all these years,\u201d Nancy said. \u201cWe thought it was important everyone hear her thoughts.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Weaver admitted it was going to be difficult to make it through the event without being emotionally overwhelmed.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\u201cI think showing my raw emotion made it even more powerful,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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For Nancy, reading it silently isn\u2019t an issue, but doing so aloud. That\u2019s a different tale.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cI realize everything that she has missed all these years and everything that she has longed for she\u2019ll never grasp with own hands,\u201d Nancy explained. It\u2019s hard to hear, knowing your child has been suffering for all these years. It\u2019s not an easy pill to swallow.\u201d<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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The conversation between Weaver and her mom took a turn.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cI feel like I never talked to you about with emotion behind it, how it\u2019s affected me,\u201d Weaver told her mother. \u201cHow I want him in my life.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Added Nancy: \u201cWe always talk about him, not what you\u2019re missing.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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There\u2019s a pause in the conversation as they collect their emotions and thoughts.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Her father is never far away, especially with most of his family who resides in and around Citrus County. They share a close bond, Weaver said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cIt\u2019s surreal because they\u2019re my closest connection to my dad, more so than his classmates or friends,\u201d she explained. \u201cThey truly remember how he was as a child until he died, I get to see everything. Not just the cancer survivor, the war hero, but the son, the brother.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Weaver thinks of the father she never knew often, realizing the steps she has taken these past three-plus years at Citrus High, whether in the hallways or on the soccer field, might have been the same he made as a student.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cOne of my favorite lines from the essay, is \u2018we\u2019ve lived the same life, 30 years apart,\u2019\u201d Weaver explained. \u201cI truly feel like that, because I\u2019m surrounded by him on the same field, the same walk through the same hallways, some of the same teachers are still there. I\u2019m doing all of the same things he did. We could be taking the same footsteps.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI feel like that\u2019s the closest thing to a memory: Doing the same thing as he did, or being in the same place.\u201d<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Weaver\u2019s hopes are it will provided \u201ceven a slight connection to him at all.\u201d The lone item she has is a letter her dad had penned a month before his death; it was found in his lower pants pocket after his body was recovered. Weaver keeps it in a picture frame, adorning one of her bedroom walls.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Source: MISSING MEMORIES | Local News | chronicleonline.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Interesting perspective and a well-done article. Quietly, and with little fanfare, the 16th anniversary of Aaron … MISSING MEMORIES (Emotional Content Warning)<\/span>Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":667,"featured_media":95943,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[461,389,217],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-95941","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-purple-heart","category-valor","category-we-remember"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.azuse.cloud\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/95941","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.azuse.cloud\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.azuse.cloud\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.azuse.cloud\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/667"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.azuse.cloud\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=95941"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.azuse.cloud\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/95941\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":95984,"href":"https:\/\/www.azuse.cloud\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/95941\/revisions\/95984"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.azuse.cloud\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/95943"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.azuse.cloud\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=95941"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.azuse.cloud\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=95941"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.azuse.cloud\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=95941"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}