Our Silent Hero
As much as I am here to mourn Andres death, I am here to celebrate the 26 years he gave us.
Didnt know Andre much as a Sergeant, I knew him simply as Andre, and I called him my cousin, someone who I will always consider family. I met Andre the day he was born, still in the hospital, and not too long after my parents became his godparents. We went on to grow up together since our families were great friends, and still remain so till this day.
Growing up with Andre was always a fun experience. Great kid, playful, always smiling, a parent could not ask for more. He had the toys and we played everything from Nintendo, Darts, Basketball, and rode motorcycles. You name it, he had it, and his family worked hard to give their kids what they did not have when they were children. Most would have turned out spoiled, greedy, and not appreciative of the gifts, but that wasnt Andre. He enjoyed the toys and shared them with no jealousy, we created our own worlds at times with our imagination, and I mean very creative stuff
As we grew, we drifted away for some years as I was a little older and ended up at a different high school. Every time we met though it was all laughs, a lot of love for each other and support. I would catch him at his parents store for a couple minutes where he would help out the family, being a team player, and he enjoyed sharing the responsibility at an early age, never complaining about it to me.
A few years later on in life I remember talking to him and hearing how excited he was about building robots with a team and competing. Judging from what I had heard, I actually thought he would go on to college and become some type of engineer, but he didnt. He chose to join the Marines and achieved far greater in life.
Unfortunately we drifted even further apart as he went to boot camp, trained outside of the state, became a Sergeant, served 2 tours and so on
all with great success. We managed though to find time to grab a drink every so often to discuss life. Again, we had our laughs, and he talked about his journeys across seas as if they were normal everyday events. I was so proud of him, and all I could think about was how he was serving our country and protecting our rights. He wasnt the type of person to talk about all of his great achievements though, that wasnt him. Since that day I considered him to be a silent hero, someone who achieved, but didnt need the recognition, applause, awards. He became satisfied by just simply doing it.
Even though I did not get to know many of Sergeant Andres comrades, soldiers, etc., I know we would all agree that he was caring, a team player, a hard worker, a friend you can count on, a leader, an inspiration. As we together continue to live on, lets celebrate Andre by learning from what he has given us for the past 26 years. Lessons he taught us silently:
Let us
Share and be unselfish
Be proud of who we are
Be loyal to others
Love
Honor our word
Be courageous
Fight for what we believe in
Support our troops no matter our Governments decisions
Influence society for the better good, not through words, but with actions
Seems unrealistic to some doesnt it? Then here are some words of encouragement:
We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us.
It's not just in some of us it's in all of us.
And when we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.
As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.
Andre managed to do it effortlessly.
Andre, if you can hear us:
We are still in disbelief, it just doesnt seem real that you are gone but we believe you still remain here with us in spirit
We will celebrate your life and continue to pass along your positive message
No words can express how proud you make us
We will love you always with all of our hearts
Thank you for the inspiration
Thank you for simply being you
We miss you so much and will never forget you
You are our HERO
God if you can hear us:
Please take care of Andre
It is very difficult, but we know you have bigger plans for him
May he rest in peace
And lastly, to Tia Lelia and Tio Jachson:
Thank you for giving us Andre. We know you are very proud of him, and so are we. You should also be very proud of yourselves for raising such a great person. Know that you are not alone and have all of us here to give you support through this hard time. Words cannot express how sorry I am. I love you both very much.
Marcello Campos Santana