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}
