composite, composite material, ceramic matrix composites, inventor
Lucas V. Starcevich
June 6, 1981 - April 16, 2007
Our son Lucas ("Luke" or "Star")
died April 16, 2007
in Baghdad, Iraq,
of wounds
sustained when the vehicle
he was in struck
an improvised explosive device.
He was assigned to the 1st Battalion,
18th Infantry Regiment,
2nd Brigade Combat Team,
1st Infantry Division, Schweinfurt, Germany.
Luke was my son. I loved him. I was there when he was born. Once, he was a little boy who loved
ice cream and cake. At one time he believed in the Easter bunny and Santa Claus, and
loved to visit the pumpkin farm in the autumn. As a little tyke, he sat on my lap whenever
he thought the movie was scary, or crawled into bed with his mother and I whenever he
was frightened at night. He loved his brother and sister, and defended them accordingly.
Lucas always wanted to be "an Army guy". He played with his "G.I. Joe" action
figures when he was a child, and loved to dress in camo. He loved his parents, both sets.
He loved his grandparents. He was especially fond of this grandfather, Frank Starcevich.
Luke loved his country, friends, and the love of
his life.
Now her universe has crumbled, just like ours.
What kind of man was Luke? He was my definition of a real man. He cared about
everyone. If he loved you, he would tell you so, without reservation. He never forgot a birthday.
He called my wife from Iraq early the morning of her
birthday to wish her a happy one,
thus beating me to it. It meant the world to her, but
that's the kind of man Luke was.
No matter what he was up against, he never thought
of just himself. Never.
Luke was courageous. He understood his job and the dangers involved, and went
about it, but he wasn't without fear. Smart men understand fear and listen to it.
Luke listened and told me about it. I listened, and prayed day and night. Our
families prayed day and night.
Now, my world has crumbled, but worse, much worse, Lucas in gone.
It is, in a way, an odd thing to honor those who died in defense of our
country in wars far away. The imagination plays a trick.
We see those soldiers in our minds as old and wise.
We see them as something like the Founding Fathers,
grave and gray haired. But most of them were boys when they died.
They gave up two lives - the one they were living and the
one they would have lived.
When they died,
they gave up their chance to be husbands and
fathers and grandfathers.
They gave up their chance to be revered old men.
They gave up everything for their country, for us.
All we can do is remember.
Speech of President Ronald Reagan at Veteran's Day
Ceremony in November 1985 at
Arlington National Cemetery
Copyright © 2007 Brad Starcevich