It seems like every day that goes by we hear on the news that one of our men or women in uniform has lost their life. In all likelihood everyone reading this entry knows a young man or woman who serves in our military in one of the five branches. I have known several young men who have served across the globe in service of the United States government and it’s people. Some of these young men include Anthony Pratt, Greg Jackson, and Daniel Morris who all served in Iraq. Anthony who is a close friend was involved in an encounter with the enemy and received minor injuries. He finished out his tour of duty and is in Bible College preparing to be a pastor. I am not sure about Greg, but he is back stateside at one of our bases.

Unfortunately I received word on Sunday from my friend Bobby Williams that Daniel gave the ultimate sacrifice for his country, his life. His convoy was attacked by an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) and Daniel was the only casulaty in the attack. Daniel had just re-enlisted for his second tour of duty in Iraq and was a seven year veteran. He was planning on attending Bible College after he left the military to become a pastor.

When I first met Daniel he was part of a group of kids at the first church I pastored that were pretty tight with each other. He was a hot head and a pretty stubborn kid, but had a heart of gold and grew into a great teenager. As his pastor when he was in his pre-teens to his teenage years, I was able to see him grow into a young man that made his parents proud. Daniel was part of a group of guys at church that were very unique. That group included Daniel, Bobby Williams, who is now a Student Pastor, and Russell Sams who is an actor in Hollywood. There were some others guys in the mix, but those three were pretty tight.

I remember taking a group of about twelve students on a ski retreat which included these three plus Jason Fraker, Brad (dang, can’t remember your last name Brad), DJ Williams and then some girls. Or the time we went to Nashville to YEC and got stranded in a blizzard on the Cumberland Plateau driving two mini-vans and a Ford Pinto. The one picture ingrained in my mind is when Daniel, Bobby, Russell and Jeff Williams dressed up like girls to raise money. They were all about twelve or thirteen years old and the closest one that looked like a girl was Russell. Daniel, Bobby, and Jeff would not have been pretty girls!

Getting back to men and women we know in the military. Send them emails, cards, packages, or whatever you wish to let them know they are appreciated and missed. I didn’t do that with Daniel and I regret that I took that privilege for granted. Call someone today who knows their email or address and write them. Don’t assume someone else will do it. Let’s show some respect for our men and women in uniform, something our country has forgotten how to do.

Daniel was twenty eight years old and leaves behind a ten year old daughter Alexys, his father and mother Glen and Amy Morris, sister Cassidy and brother Adam. He also leaves behind many friends