I lost my dad to a lingering illness when he was only 56. I miss him every day. Even through the sadness of missing him so much, I find joy in the knowledge that he was an excellent man worthy of being missed so much. I was lucky to be his kid.

Your story touched me deeply, especially the part where Willie, the ex-Nazi solder leaned over your dad and gently kissed him on his forehead and said, "goodbye my brother". I couldn't help but shed a couple of tears. I can't say I had that kind of memory with either of my parents. my father was an alcoholic and my mother abandoned me along with the rest of my six siblings. I was never adopted, but I made it through life so far, and am doing well. I am happy for you that you have those sweet and fond memories.

There was an episode of "The X files" where a Genie gives Mulder 3 wishes, and he wishes for Peace on Earth. Suddenly all people are gone. He had to spend another wish to get them back.

Good for You... Peace is Good, Great and Everything Else You can Imagine. As a former military... I Salute Them and You. Thanks for Sharing.

Such a lovely story, thank you for sharing... I lost my mother a month ago today. I was with her the last few days, and I remember her saying how much she loved me and was proud of me, and I could also say to her how much I loved her and was grateful I was for her love and support and that she was my mom... We take for granted how precious our time is here and should never forget to tell the people we love how much we care about them.

Soldiers respect each other. They typically are just cogs in the machine, chewed up and spit out.

Nice story.

I do have an understanding of close loss.. My grandfather died when I was 16 he was like my father and I still look to him as the type of person I want to be. The hardest loss I think I have had to endure was the loss of my wife three years ago. Then last year another very close friend died suddenly of a brain anerism. Journaling did help for the first year after I lost my wife. I go back and read what I have written many times.

I gained peace about death through my near death experiences. I've been surrounded by death all my life so it's I've become a bit numb to it but losing my parents would be extremely difficult for me.