Guest Book for Pfc. Jason D. Hasenauer

[BTS]

Guest Book for



Pfc. Jason D. Hasenauer







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Jason our son will be missed by many. We would like to thank everyone for their kindness and prayers.

Dan & Rita



Dan & Rita Hasenauer (Hilton, NY )

dhasenau@rochester.rr.com



I know that nothing can help your loss. I just wanted to tell you that your family is in my prayers. I have a son in Iraq and I know what we go through every day. Stay strong and God Bless. Jeannine (Rochester, NY )



I sit and try to find some comforting words to say but I know that there is absolutely nothing that can be said to ease your pain. I too have lost a loved one to this War. I have never met Jason but I do know the void that this loss will leave for your family. The pain is overwhelming but may you find solice in knowing that your son is a true Hero in every sense of the word. You are all in my thoughts and prayers and may Jason guide you through this very trying time....... jennifer fisher (watervliet, NY )

jenniferf827@aol.com



December 30, 2005To the family of Pfc. Jason D. Hasenauer:

We don't know each other, will probably never meet. We will, however, be forever united in the loss of our courageous soldier. We too lost a son, SFC Brent Adams, in Ramadi, Iraq on 12/1/05. I know there is nothing to be said right now that will ease your pain. Just know you are not alone in your feelings of both grief and being proud of your family member at the same time. I pray for peace so that the rest of our soldiers can come home safely and soundly to their anxious and awaiting families.

God Bless and bring you peace

Pam Adams Pam Adams (Millersville, PA )



So who is this fallen soldier?

My buddy Bob Lonsberry sums it up best in a letter to Jason's newborn daughter:





A NOTE TO KAYLA HASENAUER

Dear Kayla,

This letter was written a long time ago, when you were a tiny newborn, not yet one-month old. It was written the week your father died, defending our country, in a distant, foreign land.

It was written for you to read when years had passed and maturity had come and questions had arisen. Questions about the father you never met and the cause for which he gave his life. It was written to help you understand how things were when he died and what it all meant and what it now means to you.

Probably, it began when your father was a boy. He was raised in a small town in the middle of nowhere in a good home. A good home of decent people and American values. Including the value of service. A courageous kind of service that shies away from nothing and involves taking risks. The kind of service that heroes render.

Which is why he became a fireman.

At just 14, he signed on as a junior member of the local volunteer department and joined a fraternity of service and sacrifice.

And three years later something happened. When your father was 17, our country was attacked. On a Tuesday morning, jetliners were hijacked and flown into buildings and some 3,000 Americans died. It broke our heart and electrified our will. It was an overwhelming emotional time of national resolve and patriotic fervor.

And the heroes were the firefighters. As massive buildings burned in New York City, firefighters by the scores ran into them, storming up smoky stairwells to save the people above. But they did not. They perished in their efforts, and their selfless sacrifice.

Your father, as a young American and fireman, felt and saw everything the country saw. He was a witness to history, and he became a part of history. The fire trucks of his department bore decals which read, “In memory of FDNY – Sept. 11, 2001.” He saw that message every time he went to the fire hall, and he repeated it with similar stickers on his own truck, and he no doubt carried it constantly in his heart.

And yet on his next birthday he chose to become a full member of the fire department and to assume the risks of that service.

That says something about your father.

So does the fact that he later enlisted in the Army. When your father went in the Army, it was all volunteer. He ended up in the 82nd Airborne because he wanted to be there. He was incensed that terrorists had attacked our country, he was not going to let it happen again, and he wanted to do the job of stopping it. In our country’s hour of need, he stepped forward and said, “I’ll go.”

And he understood what that meant.

Which tells you what kind of man your father was, and what kind of a legacy he left you.

Your father was a hero.

He was a hero for what he promised to do. One of the firefighters who died on September 11th had said in an earlier press interview that the only brave part of becoming a fireman was swearing in – after that everything else was duty. He said it took real courage to pledge your life to duty, and he admired all who had made that pledge.

Well, your father made that pledge twice.

And he kept it.

Your father pledged to protect his community from fire and he pledged to protect his country from terrorism. And he was true to his word.

What a great honor it is to be that man’s daughter.

Maintain a connection to him. Always treasure his name and legacy in your thoughts and dreams. Listen for him and his influence in your conscience and impulse, expect him to be a part of your life. Teach your own children about him, and make him a part of their lives.

Know that at his passing his community wept with sorrow and pride. Know that men and women of every age and station were awed by the character and integrity of your father. Know that the prayers of tens of thousands were sent heavenward for your father and for you. Know that though the passage of time may take away the memory of your father’s sacrifice, it does nothing to diminish it.

Your father was a hero.

And so are you.

Because you have sacrificed for your country as well. He lost his life; you lost your father. He paid in a gun turret in a foreign land. You paid over years of growing up without a dad.

You have known your nights of suffering and you have borne your burdens, and it has all been in the name of duty. It has all been in the service of America. It has all been the price of freedom.

And your country is grateful. Grateful for your sacrifice when you were a little baby, and grateful for your sacrifice all the years since.

America is a nation of heroes. From its earliest days it has been carried by the courage of patriots. Your father stands shoulder to shoulder with the greatest of those patriots. And you stand shoulder to shoulder with the countless families who have placed flowers at their monuments and gone home with grieving hearts.

Your father was a great man, Kayla, and you should be proud of him. Just as he was proud of you. Just as he, looking down from heaven, is still proud of you.

Just as your country is proud of you.

Your father was a good man. He died for you – and everybody else. As a token of national gratitude he had the honor of having the flag of the United States draped across his casket. Remember that each time you see the flag fly. Remember that your flesh and blood paid the price to keep that flag flying.

Always remember, young Kayla, that your daddy was a hero, that he loved you, and that he died for his country. And that he all these years has missed you just as much as you have missed him.

Thank you, and God bless you.

Signed,

America



- by Bob Lonsberry © 2006



Related Links:







http://hiltonfd.org

[nvalleyvee]

I have a really hard time reading this kind of commentary. They are talking about my Father who died in 1961 in a standard training flight. He was an Air Ranger, in the reserves, and was called back up to active duty. He died for this country because he loved and believed in his duty.