Piestewa memorial honors all fallen military
BY SHINE SALT
March 26, 2015 (Print)
Special to the Navajo Times
PHOENIX – A table set for five was placed in front of the fallen soldier’s family – the Gold Star family. The table would be kept empty throughout the night in remembrance of the fallen soldiers representing each service: Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force and Coast Guard.
At the 12th Annual Lori Piestewa Memorial for Our Fallen Heroes and Families reception dinner on Sunday, a display of Arizonan soldiers was set to the side. Pictures of these fallen heroes with their names, ages and a brief description of their passing: Roadside bomb, ambush or combat in Afghanistan or Iraq.
An American flag sticky note was left next to a photo of 19-year-old, Marine Lance Cpl. Kevin P. Joyce from Ganado, stating “I really miss you and you are always in my heart.”
Another sticky note for Marine Staff Sgt. Jonathan D. Davis, 34, from Kayenta read, “Although I first met you on your final ride home from Flagstaff airport to Kayenta, I am honored to have you in my heart.”
When a young child tells their mother he or she is enlisting into the military, a mother can disagree, but they cannot choose what their children want to do. Lori Deysie-Gonzales' son enlisted at age 17, but they both made a deal: he would not sign for infantry.
Army Pfc. Ara T. Deysie yet signed for the 101st Airborne and two months after, he was killed in action in Afghanistan when a rocket-propelled grenade hit.
Ara’s mother remembers vividly the last time her son came home before being deployed. He was standing between the kitchen and dining room when he told her, “Mom if it’s going to be a big fight I’ll be buried in Arlington.”
Deysie-Gonzales looked at her son and told him she couldn’t be far away from him. When he was brought back, Ara was buried within the Colorado River Indian reservation in Parker.
“I have no idea how I go on some days and I don’t think most mothers do because of the ache. When your child is killed, part of you dies with the child and there’s no filling it in,” said Deysie-Gonzales.
The Iraq war, for most, was the start of heartaches. As Navajo Vice President, Rex Lee Jim added, “Freedom is truly not free.”
What many combat veterans have in common is being experienced in survival skills and suffering from PTSD.
“Any time we watch a fellow human being who seizes to exist before our very eyes, it does something to us. We’re never the same after that,” said Vietnam veteran, Stuart K. Stinaff. “Often for the rest of our lives, we ask ourselves why that person was taken and why were we spared? We might also ask, if there was anything we did to cause that person to die or anything we could’ve done to prevent it. These are questions for which there are often no answers.”
Though many combat soldiers are proud to serve their country, some are ashamed with the choices they had to make because it is not the traditional way they were taught, Stinaff added. But with the regrets a soldier has, they must not be ashamed.
“No matter by what name we call it, the supreme judge of us all has long since forgiven us for things we might have done better. Human kind has forgiven us including many of our former re-trackers and many of those who we may have harmed in the performance of our duties. What we must do now is learn to forgive ourselves because that is the final step to the long journey home,” said Stinaff.
In view of Piestewa Peak on Monday morning, the sunrise memorial continued with presence of Lori’s family and former POWs – Shoshana Johnson, Edgar Hernandez, Joseph Hudson and Patrick Miller.
Pfcs. Lori Piestewa and her comrades were among the first casualty in the war in Iraq ambushed in Nasiriyah March 23rd, 12 years ago.
Army Pfc. Jessica Lynch could not attend, but wrote a letter for Miller to read.
“As the years go by it has become clear to me that I need to face what happened to truly understand and to finally allow myself to heal,” Lynch wrote. “For the past 12 years, I have held all I could inside. I did not want to see those around me to know I was hurting.”
Lynch said she is seeking the help she needs to face her PTSD for her daughter, and thanked others who have encouraged her to.
“I miss Lori but I have embraced the Hopi tradition she loved so much and I have been fortunate to learn. I feel her presence all the time,” Lynch wrote.
POW Johnson added that even though soldiers stepped up once before, some cannot do so again.
“The support you give to returning soldiers is appreciated and very much needed. We need for you to step up for us,” said Johnson. “We need you to do it for us. Every year I make it here, I go home a better person and I want to say thank you for that.”
As the ceremony continued, Miss Hopi 2014-2015, Lexi James made an emotional speech about Native women warriors. She knew this event was unlike any other she spoke at. She asked herself what she should say.
James quoted Chief Sitting Bull, “Warriors are not what you think of as warriors. A warrior is not someone who fights and kills. No one has the right to take another life. A warrior for us is the one who sacrifices himself for the good of others. His task is to take care of the elderly, the defenselessness. Those who cannot provide for themselves and above all, the children.”
In her speech, James said she did not use the word ‘herself’ in the quote because in Hopi culture it is not common for women to be warriors and fight.
“But Lori did. I was just a child when the tragedy happened and I didn’t understand what was going on,” said James. “But little did I know she would pave the way for Native American women to be considered heroes, and for us to be able to stand with men and be recognized as warriors. ”
Before the white doves were released, Piestewa's children, Brandon and Carla, along with their grandparents, Terry and Percy Piestewa made the last speech.
“It’s truly amazing to see everyone here each year,” said Brandon. “Honestly, I enjoy this time of year but I also don’t… because of the memories I shouldn’t remember. But I like seeing everyone here. Thank you to everyone for making this happen.”