Posted by: McQ on Monday, June 18, 2007 I think I've mentioned that I have to practice these tributes a few hundred times (ok that's an exaggeration, but you get the idea) before I can do them. Not just to ensure they sound right, but because there's usually an emotional element to overcome as well. This week was a particularly tough one. It's about a soldier who was killed in action in Afghanistan, SFC Jared Monti. What made it difficult is he wasn't written about extensively by the media. So putting the tribute together took some time. I relied heavily on what other soldiers had written about him on a couple of tribute sites. Their words were very emotionally loaded but also told Monti's story as no one else could. He was a hero in every sense of the word. What I wanted to get across with their words was the essence of who this young man had been and the legacy he'd left through those he had taught and led. To further ratchet up the emotion, Paul Monti, Jared's father, was on hold during the time I told Jared's story, ready to come on afterward to discuss Jared's life. Paul had talked to Jared last a year ago to the day on father's day. I almost didn't make it. Even though I can almost say the tribute from memory, I came close to losing it in the last couple of lines in the last tribute from CPT Joe Hansen. Listen to the whole thing. Paul Monti does a wonderful job of talking about his son and what was gratifying to me was the tribute pretty much supported what Paul had to say. The family is doing a wonderful job keeping Jared's memory alive in a positive way, recently raising $17,000 for a scholarship fund in his name and awarding their first scholarship to a college bound young lady from the high school from which Jared graduated. If you're so inclined, the address for the fund can be found here. I know the family and some deserving young scholar would appreciate it. |
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