By Staff
I never had the privilege to meet Tamara Thurman, Phillip Travis or Christopher Winchester.
But I know their faces well. Each year our community has honored them on Memorial Day and on Sept. 11, the anniversary of the day that Tamara Thurman died at the Pentagon in an attack that set in motion the events that would lead to war in Iraq, where Phillip Travis and Christopher Winchester gave their lives as well.
I never met Tamara or Phillip or Christopher, but I can imagine their kindness and their sense of duty. Anyone who has ever seen the photos of these young people - and they were all certainly young - can also imagine the lives they might have led.
Their sacrifice means we can't ever forget what happened on that terrible day and everything that has happened since.
I'm sure it would be difficult for anyone to forget where they were when they heard the news that World Trade Center was hit not once but twice, when the Pentagon also became a target for terrorists.
But I know the fear and loss I felt that day was nothing compared to the loss that the families of those who were killed felt - and still feel, every day. There are places at the dinner table that should be filled and children who should be playing catch with their parents.
Rather than wonder what might have been, we should remember what was - three bright, beautiful young people who were the light of their families' lives, just as were the 3,000 people who died on that day and the thousands more who have died since in Afghanistan and Iraq.
We should never forget their sacrifice, but more important we should never forget them all.
Kerry Whipple Bean is publisher of The Brewton Standard. She can be reached at kerry.bean@brewtonstandard.com or at 251-867-4876.