“If you are reading this, I guess I did not make it home.
I am so sorry I will not be able to see you grow up.
But remember, your Daddy is not gone.
I am in heaven now smiling down on you every day.”
That’s what Lt. Todd Weaver wrote to his little girl and his wife before he left for Afghanistan.
He was killed by an IED on his second tour in Afghanistan in 2010.
I just happened to stumble across his story in the Daily Mail.
And I felt compelled on this Memorial Day to post about it.
Lt Weaver actually wrote two letters before he left for duty.
He wrote them in case he didn’t make it back.
One was to his wife.
The other was to his young daughter.
They are both heartbreaking.
Here’s is a condensed version of what he wrote to his daughter:
Dear Kiley, My Sweetie:
Although you may not remember me, I want you to know how very much your Daddy loves you.
I left for Afghanistan when you were 9 months old.
Leaving you was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do.
You are so very special to me sweetie – you are truly a gift from God.
The best day of my life was the day you were born.
You have such a bright and beautiful future ahead of you.
Have fun.
Enjoy it.
And remember, your Daddy will always be proud of you and will always love you.
You are and will always be my sweetie.
With very much love,
Your Daddy
I told you it was heartbreaking.
And it’s the same with the letter he wrote to his wife:
Dear Emma:
Well if you are reading this, I guess I did not make it home and therefore, I was not able to remind you again of how much I love you.
Although I may not be here right now, take comfort in the fact that I am watching over you right now.
I am not gone and I will always be with you in spirit.
The memories that we have shared over the last few years have been the best of my life.
I lived a life that most can only dream of.
I married the perfect woman.
I have a beautiful daughter that amazed me every day.
Be strong for her.
Remind her about her Daddy and tell her that I loved her more than anything else in the world.
Tell her that Daddy is in heaven now and will watch over her and protect her every minute of every day.
Never be afraid to do what you need to do to be happy.
It is so important that you continue to find happiness in your life.
You and Kiley have a wonderful life ahead of you and I am so happy to have shared some of it with you.
I love you.
Your loving Husband,
Todd
This to me is why we have Memorial Day.
For people like Lt. Weaver, Emma and Kylie.
And I can only hope that Emma and Kylie have been able to move on with their lives.
While at the same time never forgetting about “Daddy.”
And I will assume that if you want to hit “like” that you feel the same way.
Here is a link to the entire article will the full copy of the two letters:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/…/Soldiers-messages-love-baby-da…
And here is a link to a page that was created to remember Lt Weaver:
http://1lttoddweaver.org/1lttoddweaver.org/Welcome.html
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