On August 5th, a marine from Vernal was killed in action in Afghanistan. His name was Daniel Gurr. He was truly a hometown hero. Daniel was Kyler's age in school, and we got to know him pretty well when he played soccer with Kyler. He is also the cousin and nephew to our good friends Tammy, Rick, Cody, Miika and Shon Gurr. Daniel's body was flown into Vernal on August 11th, and then was taken from the airport, on a final drive past his house, down the highway, main street and on to the funeral home. Thousands of people lined the streets to welcome him home, and I'm so glad I got to witness it. I've never seen anything like it in my life, and it's something I know I will never forget.
The feeling of patriotism in our town that whole week of the funeral was amazing. Every business in town waved their flags at half mast, and all of the marquees thanked him for his service.
Ben, Brooklyn and I went to watch the procession with Grandma Monsen, Mom, MiKell, Kaden and Kenadee.
As the hearse and all of his family drove by, there was such a silent hush on the street. It was like everything kind of stood still for that moment, and it was a very peaceful, sad, and patriotic feeling.
It was truly amazing, the crowds that came out to support our fallen soldier.
On Saturday, we watched cute little Easton while Miika and Brandon went to the funeral.
When school started later in the month, Uintah retired Daniel's soccer jersey. I was so proud of our little town of Vernal and how everyone came together and showed their love and support to Daniel's family. Miika told me that as they drove through town when they were bringing Daniel's body home, that they were truly overwhelmed with all of the people that came out to show their appreciation for Daniel and his sacrifice. Daniel Gurr is a true hero, who we can all look up to. He will be greatly missed and will never be forgotten.
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