{"id":451,"date":"2019-12-15T14:04:04","date_gmt":"2019-12-15T19:04:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/suaspontefoundation.org\/?post_type=memoriam&p=451"},"modified":"2020-02-05T11:36:23","modified_gmt":"2020-02-05T16:36:23","slug":"bird","status":"publish","type":"memoriam","link":"https:\/\/suaspontefoundation.org\/memoriam\/bird\/","title":{"rendered":"Jeremy B. Bird"},"content":{"rendered":"

A Father's Memory of His Son<\/span><\/h3>

Twenty-nine years ago I was as wild as anyone could be
\nI met a wonderful woman and asked her to marry me
\nAll our friends and family were at the wedding, they wished their very best
\nA new and special love I found, this woman\u2019s patience I would sometimes test<\/p>\n

Nine months after the vows, there came into this world a bundle of joy
\nIt was a glorious day; she had given birth to a beautiful brown-eyed boy
\nHe was full of spirit, and difficult at times, he was a lot of fun
\nOne of my greatest treasures; I loved him dearly for he was my first son<\/p>\n

I watched him grow and he developed into a young man so wild and free
\nHe was like no other, one of God\u2019s greatest gifts, we called him Jeremy
\nGrowing tall and lean with a desire to be with the best
\nThe way he played football and wrestled, he stood out among the rest<\/p>\n

Hunting elk, deer, pheasant and taking one of the largest black bear
\nTo be there to see him stalk and shoot, these memories I will always share
\nThe greatest thing about him was how he treated his friends with respect
\nThey loved him like a brother, for there was no fear that they could detect<\/p>\n

Graduation day came early for him in the year of ninety one
\nOn the honor roll four years for being the best that he was among
\nMost valuable football player and wrestler, he wouldn\u2019t be denied anything less
\nAfter graduation he gave up his Blazer and friends, then joined the Army to be with the best<\/p>\n

I asked him not to go; he said with firmness in his voice, \u201cthat he must do this for himself\u201d
\nHe was always G.I. Joe as a kid; his personal life would be put on a shelf
\nTraining was hard with many difficulties, running and marching, never time to sit
\nHe would become an Airborne Ranger, by their Creed they were never allowed to quit<\/p>\n

Passing all of the tests except for the toughest he never had
\nTo be with the best of the best he needed the Ranger Tab
\nWith a weary body and hypothermia setting in, he still made it to the mountain top
\nIn a motivational letter he told how he would get the Tab if it killed him, the Tab he finally got<\/p>\n

I came home on that fateful day after work, I was tired and all worn out
\nIn drove the Chief of Police, a priest and a sergeant, I wondered what this was about
\nHis mother was the first to greet them, and then turned to me with tears in her eyes
\nFor Jeremy had made the ultimate sacrifice and they told us how he dies<\/p>\n

It was in a helicopter crash over the Great Salt Lake, it went down in a fiery flame
\nHe had volunteered for this mission, letting no one else take it for he wouldn\u2019t be ashamed
\nSergeants, officers, enlisted men, the best of the best were together on that fateful day
\nAll the rest of his Ranger Buddies were on shore, but all they could do was pray<\/p>\n

I only wanted my Son back, and after several days he came home with God\u2019s will
\nI asked Jeremy\u2019s wrestling coach where he should rest; he said, \u201cBury him on a hill\u201d
\nTwenty-two 1st Battalion Rangers came from Hunter Base, to tell Jeremy\u2019s story
\nWith a special viewing for his Ranger Buddies, we then played the song, Blaze of Glory<\/p>\n

There was such beauty at the ceremony, a blanket of white snow, the Rangers were standing proud
\nWith prayers and farewells, a twenty-one gun salute, then taps that touched the hearts in the crowd
\nHis mother laid a yellow rose on the casket, as an eerie guest of wind came on down
\nAs the rose blew off, a Ranger out of nowhere caught it before it touched the ground<\/p>\n

I believe that gust of wind was taking his soul back to heaven, where he came from
\nJeremy was only here for a short while; God\u2019s gift to me, my beloved son
\nTwo weeks after he had gone, I had a vision, it was Jeremy and he said to me
\n\u201cGet on with your life, I am at peace, you\u2019ve grieved enough, just let it be\u201d<\/p>\n

While in training he had told me to buy a place in Idaho, following his dream, I would start a new life
\nIt has been very hard for this old cowboy, for his mother is no longer my wife
\nClimbing mountains, snowmobile, riding horses, hunting lions, and sometimes living on the edge
\nThe danger and excitement that he would have liked, almost got me killed, falling off a rugged ledge<\/p>\n

When I\u2019m out doing the things he wanted me to do, his spirit is always at my side
\nAs I travel throughout the country, there isn\u2019t much this cowboy hasn\u2019t tried
\nFor Jeremy is the wind blowing in the pines or a rooster pheasant flying through the air
\nThe bugle of a bull elk, or the baying of the hounds on the trail of a black bear<\/p>\n

This hunter and Ranger was of me, the son I loved so much and will always treasure
\nHe was and still is, someone we will always miss, more than anyone could measure
\nThey say he stood tall, was a good friend, a man that walked with purpose
\nThe wrestler, the son, the friend, the hero, his spirit lives on in every one of us<\/p>\n

As the days go by and time passes, his spirit keeps me moving on
\nI will think of him often and the memory of where he is, in the great beyond
\nSomeday this old cowboy will ride that horse alone, to that mountaintop on high
\nIt will be a lonely ride, but it will be worth it, to see my Son, that Ranger in the Sky<\/p>\n

His Dad<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"menu_order":24,"template":"","acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/suaspontefoundation.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/memoriam\/451"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/suaspontefoundation.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/memoriam"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/suaspontefoundation.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/memoriam"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/suaspontefoundation.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=451"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}