Memorial Day 2005

In observance of Memorial Day -- Thank you to all those that have and continue to make the ultimate sacrifice for our Country. 9/11, personally changed my life/perception on quite of few important aspects. I will forever be changed. Thank you for all those that fight for the freedoms that many of us take for granted.... Peace be will you all....

Found this by way of And Rightly So! Hero

Call to duty: Fallen Marine ‘wanted to make a difference’

Knocked on his back by a burst of gunfire that hammered the body armor covering his chest in November in Fallujah, Marine Lance Cpl. Dimitrios Gavriel gave his corporal the thumbs-up and continued to cover the room where his attacker lay waiting.
Within minutes, the 29-year-old Gavriel would be dead, killed by more bullets and a grenade tossed by the Iraqi insurgent who would also draw his last breath that day.

A fiercely loyal and patriotic first-generation Greek-American, he gave up a lucrative career on Wall Street to join the Marines after losing five friends on Sept. 11. Gavriel didn’t have to be in Fallujah when he died Nov. 19. But his letters and e-mails now clearly show that the Haverhill man was determined to serve his country despite the pleadings of his family and friends to stay out of harm’s way.

“He was tormented over trying to please us and living up to the promise he had made to himself on 9/11,'’ said Gavriel’s father, Chris. “He didn’t want to upset us but he knew if he didn’t do this he would regret it years from now.'’
On their first Memorial Day since losing their son to the harrowing battle of Fallujah, Chris and Penelope Gavriel have learned much more about why their son rejected the riches of Wall Street to carry an M249 Squad Automatic Weapon and about how he was killed in a small house by a man who also chose to give his life for his country.