Stephen William Frank

West Point, 1998

Be Thou At Peace

Posted by Moose on May 16, 2006:

Stephen ? I watched my son, Luke, walk up the sidewalk to the front of my house. He was wearing his standard baseball cap ?too large for his head, pressing on his ears to stick out. With a big smile, he looked up at me. It startled me for a few moments. I instantly thought of you ? with that big baseball cap on and that quirky grin. It was then that I thought of your parents? loss. It took my breath away. They lost you. They lost their Stephen. Kyle and I phoned each other on the night of your death. Neither one of us could make sense of the world that would exist without you. ?Not Stephen ? there?s no way. NO way.? Not you. Eventually that night, the unfairness that we felt turned to the only way we could truly remember you ? laughing. We pictured you on a boat with Grandpa Thyreen and Kurt, fishing and telling stories. Somehow, knowing who would be there to greet you in Heaven, gave us peace. I frequently reflect on how you were living the pinnacle of God?s calling, in Iraq. It?s truly the world?s loss not having you in it. Why was your story so short? I am a firm believer that a short life of greatness is far greater than a lifetime of nothing. Your life was an example of true greatness. Peace. Love - Moose

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