11/26/2008 9:33:00 AM Father still grieves for son Pender native killed in Iraq two years ago
DARIN EPPERLY/DAILY NEWSLonnie Ford hopes the new administration won’t pull troops out of Iraq immediately. To do so, the Pender man said, would admit defeat.
PENDER - Lonnie Ford had one message for U.S. Sen. John McCain when the two met recently.
"Don't go withdrawing those troops," Ford told the then-presidential candidate in regard to the ongoing war in Iraq.
Ford's brief visit with McCain occurred last August in Sturgis, S.D., where Ford had gone to participate in that community's annual motorcycle rally, and where McCain had stopped to campaign.
"I don't want an immediate withdrawal. That will admit defeat," Ford said recently while seated at the kitchen table in the white, square farm-type house in Pender where he and his wife, Linda, raised their combined families.
It's the same house that is within a mile or two of the cemetery where his son, Joshua, is buried; the house that is just down the street from the brick building where Ford teaches and where Joshua attended school; the house that now sits on what has been renamed Sgt. Josh Ford Avenue.
Living on the street named after his late son provides a small element of comfort for the father who is still openly grieving. Tears well in his eyes as he talks about the life cut short by an explosive device that struck the vehicle Joshua was riding in during a mission in south-central Iraq.
The license plates of Ford's black pickup shout out the date Joshua died - 07-31-06 - and the inscription on his pickup's back window bears witness to the spot where he died - Al Numanijah, Iraq.
More mementos and memorabilia are displayed in the house, including the room where Ford deposits the items he collects during his daily visits to Joshua's grave.
"I take things off the grave quite often. On the two anniversaries (of Joshua's death), I've spent most of the day at the cemetery meeting people," Ford said.
Some of those visitors have been Joshua's fellow members of the 189th Transportation Co. of the Nebraska National Guard.
"A lot of people still miss him," Ford added.
Including Ford.
To help ease the pain, he became a member of the Patriot Guard Riders, a national organization of motorcycle riders and other supporters who attend military funerals to show their respect for fallen soldiers and their families.
So far, he's attended eight funerals. He's also befriended several of the families and, in doing so, he's helped himself.
"You feel like you're on a plank all alone . . . and you don't want to take the plunge," Ford said. "Now we're trying to provide support for families who have lost children in the war."
And, on this Thanksgiving eve, he's comforted by the fact that so many people remember his son. And he's thankful for what Josh "was able to do while he was alive."
Still, he admits, "holidays are terrible. You think about so many things that your are missing."
So perhaps on Thanksgiving Day, Ford will don his leather Patriot Guard Rider's vest, ride his motorcycle to the hill where Josh is buried and say hello to his fallen hero.
It was his participation in the Patriot Guard Riders that landed him in Sturgis, S.D., last summer and provided him the opportunity to share a message with Sen. McCain, who lost the election to fellow Sen. Barack Obama earlier this month.
"These young people have made a commitment to making the world better. Hopefully they won't be forgotten," he said.
Reader Comments
Posted: Friday, November 28, 2008
Article comment by:
Barb Olson
Lonnie,
I didn't even know Josh, but my husband was in the 189th with him. I still grieve for Josh and for you. I'm glad that you have found a support system with the Patriot Riders! Their presence at Josh's funeral was absolutely astounding and they brought me such pride. Good for you!
