Chris Dodd: “Every Memorial Day, words fight a losing battle against action. Each year, as spring warms into summer, we pause our…”

“Every Memorial Day, words fight a losing battle against action. Each year, as spring warms into summer, we pause our lives and bow our heads in safety, and grope for words to honor the men and women who have made that safety possible. Inevitably, we fail; we say 'fallen' when we mean 'killed'; we say 'sacrifice' for those who died unwillingly, in great pain. I believe we do so because we want to find a register for our voice to match the heroism of their work, but, also, because high words shield us from the immediacy of death in war. Even as we remember, we can't help looking away. But some lack that luxury. They are in Iraq and Afghanistan, and they are living the war we speak about. For 10 American soldiers in Iraq, Memorial Day was their last day. Last week, the Senate was out of session in commemoration of Memorial Day, but now that we have returned, I want to honor the memory of one of those 10 soldiers: Army 1LT. Keith Neil Heidtman. He was a native of Norwich and a graduate of the University of Connecticut. He was 24 years old. On Monday, May 28, the helicopter he was copiloting crashed, likely brought down by enemy fire. Early the next morning, an Army chaplain brought the news to Lieutenant Heidtman's family. For Maureen and Arthur Robidoux, his mother and stepfather, for Kerry Heidtman, his father, for Chris Heidtman, his uncle, and for Keely Heidtman, his older sister, memories will never fill the place of the live they loved.”