American Sniper - Boekje Pienter

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There was nothing I could do, aside from telling his relatives
for him.
We sat on the phone for a long time.
A few days later, I went to the funeral at the cemetery
overlooking San Diego Bay.
It was so sad. There were so many young guys, so many
young families. . . . It was emotional to be at other SEAL funerals,
but this was even more so.
You feel so bad, you cannot imagine their pain. You pray
for them and you thank God for your husband being spared.
You thank God you are not the one in the front row.
People who’ve heard this story tell me my description gets bare,
and my voice faraway. They say I use less words to describe what
happened, give less detail, than I usually do.
I’m not conscious of it. The memory of losing my two boys burns
hot and deep. To me, it’s as vivid as what is happening around me at
this very moment. To me, it’s as deep and fresh a wound as if those
bullets came into my own flesh this very moment.
STANDING DOWN
We had a memorial service at Camp Ramadi for Marc Lee. SEALs
from every part of Iraq came in for it. And I believe the entire Army
unit we’d been working with showed up. They had a lot of concern for
us; it was unbelievable. I was very moved.
They put us on the front row. We were his family.