Thursday, June 28, 2012

Dear Subcribers;

Please forgive the personal pause for a few minutes of reflection.

I am currently in Boston with family for the graduation of my daughter this coming Saturday. We had a lovely time last evening with a little sight seeing and a great meal at a place on Hanover Street.

Upon returning to our accommodations in Cambridge last night, I decided to catch up on emails and was floored by the news of a subscriber’s death. Soberness and sadness are the best descriptions I can use to describe the news. I didn’t know Scott personally, but I do know his parents.

While I was soaking up the great atmosphere of Boston, it was poignantly pounded home to me that there are still those who are making the ultimate sacrifice to allow all of us to soak up the greatness of this country.

With a son-in-law who also spent a year in Afghanistan a few years back, the death of Scott Pace was a reminder that these are real people, displaying real bravery while facing real bullets for our real benefit.

Our family will still enjoy our stay in Boston and the graduation of our daughter for a few more days, but I personally want to express my condolences and appreciation for the ultimate sacrifice of Scott and his family.

Below is a copy of the email I received with a link that is worth watching.

hb

HB:

Our son, US Army Captain Scott Pace, I understand is a Cougarsportsline subscriber. Regrettably he was killed in action in Afghanistan three weeks ago today. He was a helicopter pilot and a company commander of a troop of Apache and Kiowa helicopters. I took the liberty of attaching a link to some footage from our local paper. You may remember his mother from the Y, Kathy Payne. We’re from Brawley.

http://www.ivpressonline.com/videogallery/70498884/News/VIDEO-Scott-Pace-Funeral-Procession

We’ll have to figure out what to do with his subscription at some point. Scott attended BYU a year before and a year after his mission to Argentina. Then he went to West Point where he played varsity basketball, varsity sprint football (ie, regular football but all players must weigh in at 165 pounds two days before games; it is played back east mostly by the military academies and the Ivies.) He also played team handball and was MVP of the Division 2 National Championship West Point team his junior year; his senior year, they lost in the collegiate finals to UNC. Excuse me for going on. He is a BUHS, BYU and Army fan.

Thanks.

Patrick M. Pace