1 00:00:00,133 --> 00:00:05,133 (drums gently beating) (jet engine overhead) 2 00:00:09,902 --> 00:00:12,819 (melancholy music) 3 00:00:13,063 --> 00:00:16,313 - [Woman] We remember them as children, 4 00:00:18,366 --> 00:00:20,033 playing in the yard, 5 00:00:21,213 --> 00:00:22,880 blowing out candles, 6 00:00:23,818 --> 00:00:25,901 taking their first steps. 7 00:00:27,107 --> 00:00:29,024 We held them as babies, 8 00:00:29,189 --> 00:00:32,022 and watched them grow into Airmen. 9 00:00:32,818 --> 00:00:36,485 We remember them as our fathers and mothers, 10 00:00:36,738 --> 00:00:40,230 when we said goodbye and tried not to cry. 11 00:00:40,230 --> 00:00:44,346 And then letting it all out every time they came home. 12 00:00:44,346 --> 00:00:46,685 Crying when it finally sunk in, 13 00:00:46,685 --> 00:00:50,102 that this time, they weren't coming home. 14 00:00:51,763 --> 00:00:54,766 We remember them on our wedding days, 15 00:00:54,766 --> 00:00:56,099 our first dates, 16 00:00:56,750 --> 00:00:58,333 waking up together, 17 00:00:58,880 --> 00:01:02,285 and how they died in slow motion on a phone call, 18 00:01:02,285 --> 00:01:05,382 or in a living room, when we heard the words, 19 00:01:05,382 --> 00:01:07,632 you might want to sit down. 20 00:01:08,909 --> 00:01:13,909 The reality is, nobody was ever killed peacefully in action. 21 00:01:14,221 --> 00:01:16,284 And knowing that will rip your heart apart 22 00:01:16,284 --> 00:01:18,490 when you think of someone you loved, 23 00:01:18,490 --> 00:01:20,407 and still love, always, 24 00:01:21,331 --> 00:01:24,414 in their final moments on this earth. 25 00:01:27,016 --> 00:01:30,041 They didn't deserve to die like that. 26 00:01:30,041 --> 00:01:34,495 But they believed our country deserved all they had to give. 27 00:01:34,495 --> 00:01:38,245 There was so much more they could have given. 28 00:01:40,015 --> 00:01:41,932 For a Gold Star Family, 29 00:01:42,492 --> 00:01:46,159 every day is your own personal memorial day. 30 00:01:48,744 --> 00:01:50,744 The picture on the wall, 31 00:01:51,320 --> 00:01:54,487 dress blues with the flag behind them. 32 00:01:55,147 --> 00:01:58,064 Flag from the coffin on the mantel, 33 00:01:58,273 --> 00:02:00,296 or tucked away some place you can take it out 34 00:02:00,296 --> 00:02:02,713 and hold it when you need to. 35 00:02:03,077 --> 00:02:04,541 We still pay their cell phone bills 36 00:02:04,541 --> 00:02:07,624 so we can call and hear their voices. 37 00:02:09,240 --> 00:02:12,145 We still visit the base because we want to be included, 38 00:02:12,145 --> 00:02:14,645 because we're still Air Force. 39 00:02:16,046 --> 00:02:18,187 And if you're on gate duty, and see that Gold Star 40 00:02:18,187 --> 00:02:20,660 on the back of our pass, you don't have to worry 41 00:02:20,660 --> 00:02:22,660 about what to say to us. 42 00:02:23,349 --> 00:02:24,182 We know, 43 00:02:25,588 --> 00:02:26,755 and thank you. 44 00:02:28,020 --> 00:02:30,937 This is a club no one wants to join 45 00:02:31,997 --> 00:02:34,080 But this is where we are. 46 00:02:34,452 --> 00:02:37,330 And we're as proud as we ever were. 47 00:02:37,330 --> 00:02:38,553 Gold Star Families can say things 48 00:02:38,553 --> 00:02:41,970 to each other we can't with anyone else. 49 00:02:41,970 --> 00:02:44,121 Our civilian friends love us and mean well, 50 00:02:44,121 --> 00:02:46,552 but they treat us with kid gloves. 51 00:02:46,552 --> 00:02:50,469 They can't even say the words "body" or "kill". 52 00:02:50,572 --> 00:02:53,739 It's not talking about it, that hurts. 53 00:02:53,998 --> 00:02:55,915 We talk about the pain. 54 00:02:55,973 --> 00:02:57,734 We can talk about every detail about 55 00:02:57,734 --> 00:02:59,734 the day we got the news. 56 00:02:59,770 --> 00:03:00,853 But we don't. 57 00:03:01,610 --> 00:03:03,837 We talk about what they were like. 58 00:03:03,837 --> 00:03:05,485 And we're there for each other. 59 00:03:05,485 --> 00:03:07,213 Because a Gold Star Family understands 60 00:03:07,213 --> 00:03:09,046 what no one else does. 61 00:03:10,171 --> 00:03:11,838 A person dies twice. 62 00:03:12,756 --> 00:03:15,147 Once, when they breathe their last breath. 63 00:03:15,147 --> 00:03:19,147 And once, when their name is never spoken again. 64 00:03:19,180 --> 00:03:21,263 They are never forgotten. 65 00:03:21,364 --> 00:03:23,947 (somber music) 66 00:03:26,647 --> 00:03:28,814 Remember them as children. 67 00:03:29,640 --> 00:03:31,723 Remember them as fathers. 68 00:03:33,195 --> 00:03:34,112 As mothers, 69 00:03:34,418 --> 00:03:35,376 and sisters, 70 00:03:35,376 --> 00:03:36,459 and brothers. 71 00:03:37,192 --> 00:03:40,109 Remember them as the ones we loved. 72 00:03:40,332 --> 00:03:44,249 Because they were ours, before they were yours. 73 00:03:46,330 --> 00:03:48,330 Remember them as heroes. 74 00:03:52,673 --> 00:03:54,090 Aim high, Airman.