In the spring of 1968, when 23 year old Nicholas Cutinha was mortally wounded protecting fellow soldiers in battle, I was preparing to graduate from high school. As I anticipated my future with the hope and excitement all graduates experience, the parents of Nicholas Cutinha were grieving the tragic all-too-soon loss of their brave young son - a proud and honorable soldier in the United States Army, serving his country in the Vietnam War.
The gravesite for this young man we never knew - a Medal of Honor winner - is less than 10 minutes from our home on Pollywog Creek. His tombstone is engraved with the words, "Great Love Lives On".
On this Memorial Day, as we have done on Memorial Days past - before baseball and barbecues, juicey slices of watermelon and tall glasses of sweet tea - we will visit Nicholas' gravesite and remember his great sacrifice with prayers and flowers and sober and somber gratitude.
{Photos - 1, 6 - Cutinha's gravesite, 2-3 - South Florida National Cemetery, 4-5 National U.S. Navy Seal Museum}
