It is Memorial Day in the USA, when we remember fallen members of the Armed Forces. The freshest memory for me is Marine Sgt. Christopher T. Heflin.
I got to know him in the summer of 2003 when I played in a summer roller hockey league. Somehow I ended up on a team that was composed of 4 or 5 Marines and a few addins. Heflin was the trainer at the local Marine Reserve Detachment, and the rest were reservists who lived locally.
He later volunteered to go to Iraqi and was KIA by a roadside bomb near Fallujah in November 2004.
He was hardcorp and played hockey with great enthusiasm, intensity and determination. One thing I liked about him was that he cut me no slack due to my age. I was held to the same standard as everyone else, based on performance, and if I performed poorly, he was displeased.
That really gives you a sense of responsibility that inspires you to play as hard as possible. Of course, he was often displeased. :-) It actually gave me a greater sense of belonging, even though I was clearly playing out of my league.
I can’t say we became close friends, but still it makes the cost of war more personal to me as I feel that playing as teammates did give me a bond with him.
