God be with you Blake till we meet again

Well this month has been a hard one for me and my family. On January 8th 2009, my cousin Thomas Blakely Nelson "Blake" passed away. He was serving in the army and was preparing to go back to Afghanistan in April of this year. He served in the Army since 2005 and fought in Iraq for 15 months. He saw his life pass before his eyes several times while over there, but he returned home safely.

Here is a picture of him with Hayden


Here he is with Kaeli

I can't believe that he is gone. When he left for Iraq, I wrote a poem for him. Here is the poem.

A Brave One Among Us

He left his home and family, to go to another land,
to fight for a special purpose and show that United We All Stand.
When his country truly needed him, he knew what he had to do,
his calling in life wasn't simple, be he went to protect me and you.
The path for him hasn't been easy, he's made mistakes a long the way,
but that boy has grown into a man, and is still growing day by day.
His face shows determination, to rid the earth of all that is bad,
the dirt stained face reminds us to, pray for him while his is in Baghdad.
His eyes are the windows, that leads us to his soul,
the pain he hides deep down inside, has begun to take its toll.
He is so brave and courageous, when danger presents itself,
the thoughts of his family and son, reminds him to take care of himself.
A family who truly loves him, are counting the day until when,
their brave son shall return home, and tell us about where he has been.
He may not understand or realize, the example he is giving to us,
he is showing us a changed person, one that we all can trust.
He will be away for awhile, we hope the days will go by fast,
when we welcome him with open arms, and he will be safely home atlast.
I am so proud of him, this man that we all love,
I pray that he will always be safe, putting my faith in Father above.
He is a soldier fighting for, the freedom for all of us,
he truly is a Hero, this BRAVE ONE AMONG US.
Cami 11/21/06

While he was in Iraq for 15 months, we decided to send a care package to him and in it Hayden found at a party store, 2 military rubber duckies. Hayden wanted to send it to Blake. We told him that he could do anything he wanted with them, keep them or give them to little kids. Well when he came home, he presented one of the ducks to Hayden (in a shadow box). It was covered with Iraqi dirt and he told us not to open it or clean it. Hayden promised him. Blake also presented him with a certificate of honor. It was issued to the duck Lt. Dewey. He told us that the 2 ducks went out on every mission they had, I can't remember how many he said but there were a lot especially when you are a gunner. Anyways, before every mission Blake (drove the hummers) and his Sergeant would kiss the photos of their loved ones on the dashboard and then both would rub the ducks (who were duct taped to the dash) for good luck. He then told Hayden that he thanked him for thinking of him and praying for him daily. Below is a picture of the ducks.

The following slide show is of the funeral. It brings tears to my eyes looking back on them. Seeing the pain that my family had gone through, but I am posting them in honor of Blake. He was a good father, son, brother, grandson, nephew, cousin and a brave soldier. He will always be in my heart and my thoughts. Blake... I love you!