Thursday, February 23, 2006

For Rudy Salcido

I received my Memorial Bracelet two days ago and haven't taken it off since. I love it, it is a great way to pay tribute to a fallen solider.

SFC Rudy A. Salcido was my son's, (SPC Clifford C. Skinner) best friend and sergeant. They were both in Iraq when on November 9, 2006 the truck in which Skinner was driving and Salcido was riding in, was struck by an IED. SFC Salcido was killed and SPC Skinner was wounded.

I will wear Rudy's bracelet proudly, as he is truly an American Hero.

Sincerely,

Sharon

Thursday, February 09, 2006

Luceo Non Uro

Tyler was the youngest member of my family and we all felt a little uncomfortable when he joined the army January of 2005....what with the war and all. But, that was what he felt he was meant to do and we supported him in everyway possible. In late September of 2005 he was deployed to Iraq, and on November 2nd we received news that Tyler was killed by an IED. He is our HERO. Our community showed us incredible support and kindness while we laid our young soldier to rest. He has been such an incredible inspiration to many people within our community and especially to me. I wanted to find something I could wear to keep his legacy with me at all times. I thought about getting a jacket with his army batallion's patch on it, of getting a cross necklace to wear at all times...but nothing seemed to fit the situation.

One day a soldier contacted me from Iraq through email who knew Tyler. He told me that he always wears a bracelet to remember Tyler. I asked him about it and he told me about memorialbracelets.com. The bracelets were exactly what I was looking for. Not only does it commemorate Tyler, but other people ask me about the bracelet and its a chance for me to remind others that our troops are doing an awful lot of good overseas, despite what we hear in the media and that they still need our love and support.

People then ask me about what the words engraved on my bracelet mean. When I would write letters to Tyler in basic training, I would close each letter with our family creed "LUCEO NON URO" which means "To Shine, Not Burn". If anybody demonstrated this saying, it is Tyler. I had it engraved on my bracelet under his name. So, thank you for allowing us to personalize bracelets. It means the world to me!