“We like to say that God has a plan, but we just didn’t get to have a say in it. After the boys died, we dedicated our lives to encouraging young people to get help with depression. So many soldiers are afraid to seek help. They’re afraid to tell the Army. They’re afraid of what their fellow soldiers will think. We want them to know that it’s no different than asking for help with a broken arm. After the boys died, we never thought we’d be happy again. Carol felt suicidal herself. I felt guilty for even laughing. But happiness returned slowly. Our daughter Melanie is doing great. She’s a runner, and a swimmer, and a nurse. I ended up getting promoted to general on September 22nd—Jeffrey’s birthday. My boss engraved my sons’ names on each star. During the ceremony, while he was pinning the stars on my shoulders, he told me: ‘Kevin and Jeffrey will always be with you.’ When I became a general, I was allowed to select an aide. I interviewed eight people for the position. I chose a fantastic young man named Joe Quinn. And Joe is now my son-in-law. He ended up falling in love with Melanie, they got married, and we’re expecting our first grandchild in a month. We are just giddy about that. So ‘happy now’ is different than ‘happy then,’ but we do feel happiness again. ‘Happy now’ is Melanie and Joe. ‘Happy now’ is our future grandchild. And ‘happy now’ is a young soldier who hears Kevin’s story, and tells us that they got help.”
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