Mona Shores School Visit – 2024
We were very fortunate this year. It was a beautiful Saturday afternoon on June 15, 2024 in Washington DC. It was 84 degrees with a nice breeze. The next Saturday was predicted to be 98 degrees, hot and muggy. There were 123 students and many chaperones from Mona Shores Middle School in Michigan visiting this year. With the exception of 2020 and 2021 (missed due to Covid), the kids from Mona Shores have stopped at Eric’s gravesite as part of their annual DC trip each year since 2007. Alex Parr, a teacher at Mona Shores, made most of the coordination for the get together. Its so encouraging to see so many students make the visit each year. My wife, (who notices these things) again said to me she was amazed at how well dressed and respectful each student was. She is a teacher for her day job by the way
We will support Mona Shores in this event as long as we are alive as it has become very important to us as well!
Everyone gathered near Eric’s gravesite under the shade of the trees to meet each other and listen to Eric’s dad (myself) speak about Eric to the students. Like previous years, I shared what I could about Eric growing up and how he became such a selfless young man but also he was more ordinary than most of the students might have thought. I wanted them to know that they didn’t have to be a superstar to make a difference in this world. I shared some of the other ways different groups of people remembered and honored Eric and other Fallen Heroes and how I became involved with the two non-profits that helped me channel my grief in a positive way. The kids made a very nice donation to one of them, the Fallen Heroes Portrait Project created by Michael Reagan. As was the case the previous years, the afternoon was a very profound and emotional experience.
Most of the time was spent talking about Eric, the type of person he was and kind of impact he was having even though his time with us is over. The letters the Mona Shore students had written to Eric were very touching and heartwarming. Two students read their letters out loud. For the other 200 letters or so, I read each one and selected about a dozen that are posted below. Included above is a very small sample of some of the pictures as well.
To the Mona Shores students, chaperones and to Alex Parr, on behalf of our son Eric and his family, we want to say thank you for honoring him in this way. You have given us a precious gift by learning about Eric and his life. You are a blessing to us and we are proud to call you our friends. To the students, thank you for honoring Eric the way you have. By learning about him, you have kept him alive for us. This is a precious gift. We look forward to seeing the Mona Shores students and chaperones again next year!.
Mona Shores student Adrian Gallegos
Mona Shores student Bronwynn Parsekian
Mona Shores student Owen Terpstra
Mona Shores student Hunter Hekkema
Mona Shores student Owen Herman
Mona Shores student Kiernan Larabee
Mona Shores student J’annah Sharp
Mona Shores student Aubrey Langlois
Mona Shores student Celia Robbe
Mona Shores student Hayden Skrabis
Mona Shores student Nora Sandison
Mona Shores student Sophia Sowa
Mona Shores student Myah Love
