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The 4th of July is here. A lot of people will think of a lot of different things this week… Fireworks, baseball, grilling, hitting the lake.

For me I will think of this.

This is Paul Pabla. I went to high school with Paul in Indiana. We were friends. Paul was a pretty quiet guy actually. The kind of guy your mom would always ask about with little statements like, “I love that kid” or “he’s the sweetest guy”…. Paul was the kind of guy that never had a problem with anyone. He was accepted by my best of friends, and equally by my worst of enemies. He truly cared about people. We were leaders in Youth For Christ. Paul was truly a great, great person.

After high school I started to lose touch with Paul. I was living in Oklahoma, going to college. Paul enlisted in the military. He was one of the the good guys, you know the ones that joined because the truly felt a sense of responsibility. A sense of duty to their country. 9/11 happened. I was shocked. Paul was strong. He was sent to Iraq to fulfill a duty to his country.

Look at the picture. This is who Paul was. These are the kids he got to know in Baghdad. He gave them candy, he played soccer the best he could in his armor. He showed the children of Iraq that the United States was not a country to be feared, but a group that truly cared for them. These were his friends. This was his calling.

On a very typical day last year, Paul was walking this group of children across the street in Baghdad. He probably was joking around with them, giving his signature smile, letting them know he cared, when a sniper fired a bullet from a window down the street. Paul died instantly. My friend Paul was dead in the streets of Baghdad at the age of 24.

My hometown of Huntington, IN pulled out all the stops. The funeral was huge. Firetrucks flew the largest American Flag I have ever seen. Our HS gym was packed to the rafters. My entire community came out to show their support for a man that gave his entire life away.

Now I know this isn’t Memorial Day. It’s not all about dead soldiers… but at this time in history… maybe we should think about it. It’s so easy now days to focus on the new iphone, new music, new movies, and forget that overseas thousands of men and women are giving their lives for this country. And their deaths constitute just another “typical” day.

So enjoy this Independence Day. Laugh, Eat, Smile… but at some point, think about my friend Paul, and remember that everything we have in this country comes at a price, maybe we should be a little more thankful for the people that pay that price for us…