María Elvira Salazar: “I would like to just tell you a little story of someone who was my hero, and that was my father. He was a World War II…”

“I would like to just tell you a little story of someone who was my hero, and that was my father. He was a World War II staff sergeant who served during the bombing of Pearl Harbor. When he was 82 years old, he was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. As the disease progressed, he slowly started to forget things. But about the age of 84, one morning we were sitting around my mother's kitchen table there and we heard my father fumbling back in his bedroom, and he came out shortly after that and in his hand he had his World War II staff sergeant uniform. He told us, ``I want to be buried in this uniform.'' We are taught not to argue with Alzheimer's patients, so we said, ``Sure dad, no problem.'' But as the disease progressed even more and more, he started forgetting more things. But every now and then he would bring up the fact, ``Please, I want to be buried in my uniform.'' Anyway, at the age of 86 he suffered a massive heart attack. My mother called me and I rushed over to the house, and I remember that when I picked him up from the floor to put him on the gurney to take him to the hospital, with the very last ounce of strength that he had in his body he reached up around my neck and he told me that he loved me, and the very last word that my father ever said to me was ``uniform.'' We buried my father in his uniform. But to many veterans, the only thing that they have to hold on to is this great country, because they served with such pride and passion.…”