Friends' memories last forever

To the editor:

"Daddy, I lost some of my friends." "I understand son. You'll see them again." It was his first day at school. Not all of his friends started at the same school. He made new friends and got to see his old friends. He hadn't lost them. Friends remain friends.

"Daddy, I lost some of my friends." "I understand son, you'll see them again." This time we had moved and it was a new state, new town and a new school. He made new friends. And thanks to the telephone and e-mail, he got to see his old friends. They still remained friends.

"Daddy, I lost some of my friends." I understood, but this time I knew he wouldn't see them again. He had gone half a world away with new friends like no others he had ever had before. They trusted each other with their lives. He hadn't moved away from his friends this time. As they walked beside him, they fell never to walk again. "But Daddy, they are still my friends, my brothers. They will never be gone, not as long as I remember." Take a moment to remember each American who has fallen in battle. Not only were they somebody's family, they were somebody's friend. And while you may think they lost a friend, a friend remains forever in a friend's memories.

Marine Lance Cpl. Jolani McCanless is a 2003 graduate of Oak Ridge High School. He is presently deployed in Al Asad Air Base in Iraq.

TERRY McCANLESS, Oak Ridge