My Brother’s Legacy
It was well after dark when my father heard a car door shut on what was otherwise the quiet cul de sac where he called home. Peering out the window, he watched two military officers exit a nondescript sedan and walk towards the porch. My father, a Navy veteran, was frozen in place when he recognized that one of the officers was a chaplain. Moments later, he was notified that his son, Norman Anschuetz II, was killed during Operation Reforger.
There is a quote that essentially states that ‘no parent should outlive their children. While we all certainly understand the nature and meaning of this quote, it still inadequately even touches upon the pain and anguish created when parents lose a child. Decades later, my parents would still openly weep every time they heard taps.
The years that passed after my brother’s death did little to erase the profound sense of loss they felt. Nothing could fill the void in their hearts, yet they pressed ahead with life as people must. Still, they found solace in building a memorial in his name at the University of Michigan. They donated and raised money to create a foundation at the university that awards the top military cadets with a scholarship for those that exhibited the highest quality and character of leadership.
To this day, the highest performing Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine candidates compete for the Norman C. Anschuetz II scholarship for exemplary leadership. In this way, they breathed life back into my brother Norm, and in some small way, immortalized him.
Sadly, our story is not unique. Over 7,000 service members have fallen in our Global War on Terror. And with almost every loss, a story like my family’s has been repeated. Far fewer, however, have had the opportunity to memorialize their loved ones to the extent that perhaps they would like.
Technology has granted us a tremendous opportunity to build lasting, living memorials. Unlike monuments of stone, brick, and steel, we now have the ability to weave and stitch stories together from those that served with those that were lost. And in this fashion, provide context to the very people that made history, and gave their all in so doing. We can, and should, honor and remember all that serve, especially those that never came home.
Task Force Tribute intends to build the first-ever virtual, living memorial to all those that served during the Global War on Terror. Our fallen warriors deserve it. We all need it.
Just ask any Gold Star family member what cementing the legacy of their lost loved one would mean to them.
– Christian Anschuetz
