Remembering::somewhere a family is missing him...

The willingness of some to give their lives so that others might live never fails to evoke in us a sense of wonder and mystery.

~ Ronald Reagan

{Photos: Ft. Denaud Cemetery and the grave of Nicholas Cutinha, who lost his life in service to our country at the age of 23 in Vietnam and was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for risking his life to save the lives of others. We never knew him, but somewhere he has family who misses him, so every Memorial Day, our family places flowers at his graveside. South Florida National Cemetery, Navy SEAL Museum

We will remember...

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}