Kenneth Conde Jr. - My Memorial Day Reflections

You may be asking "Who is Kenneth Conde Jr"? Well, he is a Marine Sgt who was killed in Iraq. But not just that, he was Kris' friend and squad leader. K has several buddies who gave their lives for our country. But Conde is always in the back of my mind. For more reasons than one.

This e-mail to Kenneth Conde Sr. explains it all. (Sent last year)

Here is an article about Sgt Conde:

http://militarytimes.com/valor/marine-sgt-kenneth-conde-jr/268627/

Hello, my name is Sarah, we've never met but you and your son have been brought into my life indirectly. I guess I'll start from the beginning.
I read your book a while back, before I met my boyfriend, a marine. He's a sgt now, leading men in Afghanistan as I type this. He fought in OIF 2004 and I've always known he lost some of his battle brothers. But there is one he still talks about to this day. His sgt, Sgt. Conde. You see, Kristopher doesn't talk much about his first tour, for reasons I'm sure you understand. But he never quit talking about your son, his hero. Up until last week, I never knew your book "Just Another Broken Heart" would reappear in my life. But then I received an email from Kris,in it were names of his brothers that had fallen fighting the same battle he did (he's planning on getting a tattoo once he returns home)...and as I read the list the first line read "Conde, K. 040701".
I recognized the name but didn't know from where at the time. I decided to go online and find out where I knew the name from. Then it hit me, your book is where I recognized it. I read it long ago, and it had touched my heart. Well, I remembered one of the poems you wrote called "the funeral is over". You spoke of how people have moved on saying "the funeral is over, the cameras are gone, now everyone seemed, to have moved on". I guess I'm writing you to let you know that your son has made a tremendous impact on peoples lives. Specifically the life of my best friend, the love and hero of my life, Kristopher. He's told me about Kenneth on numerous occassions, always saying that he strives to be as good of a marine as Sgt. Conde was. Kristopher once wrote about him saying "My hero is Sgt. Conde, he was my squadleader in Iraq. He was the greatest man and Marine I have ever met. He is guarding God's heavenly gates now. He passed on when our vehicle was hit by an I.E.D... which is the same one I was hit by. He died in the hosptial, and I admire him and wish he were still with us today cause he was a great leader of marines...As he always said, 'Ryde or Die'"
I'm not sure what I'm trying to accomplish in writing this to you, but I knew in my heart that I needed to reach out and let you know that the cameras may have died down, but your sons name, life and story has not. Thank you for writing your book and sharing your reflections. I figured the least I could do was share mine as well. God bless you, your family and your son. Thank you again.With all my heart,Sarah Cole 

Memorial Day 2010 I was in Washington and a local high school took the time to place a white picket with the names of those who were KIA in OIF & OEF. It was a beautiful sight. Kris was still deployed and I knew I had to weed through all the names to find Conde's.

Simply amazing. I couldn't capture all the pickets in one photo.

I finally found his name. It was not his grave, it's not where his body lies. But I just knew that I had to leave something. Maybe in a way I did it for Kris, knowing if he could do it himself, he would. 

Every year, on memorial day, Conde is always on my mind. I never met him, never spoke to him. But his heroic story has been in my life for a several years now. I would've never guessed that my, now, husband would be in that same story. What a small world.

So this day everyone celebrates and gives thanks in a different way, for a different reason. But I always make sure to take my moment to think of all the men & women who gave their life for me, you & the rest of our nation. 

Rest in peace Heroes. You are never forgotten.