Unknown Sacrifice.

The summer after my junior year in high school I was planning on going to Utah for a few weeks to visit family and also attend EFY at Brigham Young University. My young women's leader insisted on introducing me to her brother-in-law who was my age.  She just knew we would be great friends.  I was given his phone number and while it could have been a really awkward conversation, it wasn't at all. It was comfortable, lively and by the end of it, I was looking forward to meeting this Erick guy in person. He seemed incredibly fun if nothing else. 

When Erick picked me up in Orem after EFY with 4 of his friends, he was much different from the guy I had talked with on the phone. He was quiet, reserved, and almost shy.  I was perplexed.  A moment or two after getting in the car, fits of laughter came from the back seat of the van and the REAL Erick Lund emerged to take over the driver's seat. He had his friend pretend to be him--- just to see my reaction I guess. It was a pretty funny joke. I have to admit I was relieved when the real Erick revealed himself. He was much easier to carry a conversation with. We spent the day at Seven Peaks water park with his friends, not far from where I live now.  While we were eating a picnic lunch on our inner tubes, Erick motioned for me to look at  the other two couples who were about 15 yards in front of us starting to flirt. He got a kick out of watching the romance develop and wanted to capture it on camera for blackmail. He took my camera and tried taking a picture of his friends who "swore" they were just friends, acting a little more friendly than usual. Then he thought it would be great to get a shot of our feet in the air while we were sitting on the tubes. He snapped the photo and then left to pour cold water on his flirting friends.

When the sun went down all six of us had red-faces and were tuckered out. He dropped me off at my aunt's house in Bountiful where I gave him a very generous token of thanks for the fun day --- Chapstick. {It was made in Richmond. Had to bring something from the home-town!} We exchanged addresses and bid farewells and he was off to Logan. His sister-in-law was right--- we had become great friends after just a single day. I got double prints of our pictures at Seven Peaks and mailed a set his way. We had a good laugh about his blackmail shot and a chuckle out of the feet shot. His letters were hilarious and full of great stories. A day I got a letter from Erick Lund was always a good day.

The summer of 2000, not long after graduation he called me to tell me he was coming out to Virginia for a visit. He had enlisted in the Army and would be heading to boot camp soon back east and wanted to visit his brother before he went. I distinctly  remember thinking he was crazy. "What?! Why?!" I blurted out. I know. So not supportive.  Enlisting was such a foreign concept to me. He explained it was in his blood. His brothers had done it, his dad had done it. It would pay for school and besides, things were peaceful at the time. He probably wouldn't even have to serve active duty in a war. I was still in shock but welcomed his visit. It was great to see him and we had a blast together visiting historic sites in Virginia and going to the theme park, Kings Dominion. I had to prove to him it was way better than Lagoon. :) He won over my little sister and parents in a heartbeat and he became like family.

His letters while in boot camp were positive, which I found remarkable. Boot camp is miserable! It's horrible. It's hard.. He often expressed his love for his country and how grateful he was to be a part of it in such an active way. When I went to college at BYU he was so interested in hearing what it was like and often reminded me how lucky I was to be going to such a great university. During fall semester he showed up at my dorm door with a box of Krispy Kreme donuts and a very short hair cut.  I shrieked with laughter. Partly out of excitement to see him, partly because Krispy Kreme donuts were a Richmond, VA delicacy that had just hit Utah and I hadn't gotten to eat one yet, but mostly because he had no idea he was committing a huge BYU no-no for coming to a girls dormitory at BYU not during "visiting hours." He was bewildered and confused as I was shooing him out of the hallway. Once outside I explained in between gasps of laughter that unless it was a a Sunday or Wednesday between 5-8pm, he was not allowed in the hallway of a ladies dorm. He thought it was the funniest thing in the world.

The following spring, just before the close of the semester, he told me he had received his mission call to Sweden and would be reporting in a few weeks. It wouldn't be long before I was back home in Virginia and he was off to Sweden, so I seized the day and drove up to Logan to visit Erick's stomping ground for the weekend. This was my first time up to Cache Valley and it was fun to finally see firsthand the beauty of the area he often referred to in his letters. I met some of his family members and we hung out with a group of his close high school friends. I could tell he was well-liked by all who knew him. His little sister Lynsi was the sweetest, prettiest thing you'd ever meet. It was fun to see him one last time before heading off to serve the Lord for 2 years. We pen-pal'ed it again, this time letters from continent to continent. Sweden is a difficult mission, but Erick was without fail upbeat, always sharing the ups and something hilarious to laugh at. My Dad also wrote Erick a time or two on his mission and lost some bet with him, so he had to mail him some cookies. Erick shared the loot with his district and promptly sent a picture of a dozen missionaries devouring my Dad's cookies.

Fast forward a few years later. I was living in Alexandria, VA at the time. Kyle was selling pest control and Cade was about 15 months old. It was just before my birthday. I received a phone call from my mom. Erick was serving in Iraq and his Humvee had been hit. Really, really bad. He was alive, but that was all she knew. Under my breath I silently scolded him for enlisting. Childish, I know. 9-11 had occurred while he was on his mission, shocking us all, taking away our days of peace. After being home a short while, he was off for active duty in Iraq. I silently prayed all would be well. I didn't hear anything new after that, so I assumed no news was good news.

When my little sister Rebecca was attending Utah State she called me to tell me she had run into Erick on campus. He was alive and well.  It was great news. [Funny side story of how small the world is: in Rebecca's anatomy class she saw slides  of what could go wrong during a bunionectomy. Coincidentally they were of Mandy's feet (Erick's wife). She almost had to have an amputation due to infection.  Rebecca and I stayed away from the idea of bunion surgery for many more years after that. Fortunately we fared better following our surgeries.]

Last summer while perusing Mormon Messages I discovered a familiar face. Erick and Mandy had been spotlighted (or is it spot-lit? hmmm). I shrieked with delight and couldn't wait to watch it. By the end I had tears streaming down my cheeks. I had no idea just what he and his wife had been through. They are incredible people.  

{the video is cut so that is seems like Erick enlisted in the army at 18 and shortly after met his wife-to-be Mandy. They left out that he served a mission for two years and THEN came home to Logan where he went to school where he met his bride. While I love a good young love soldier story, this makes them seem a little hasty and crazy to marry at 18. Had to clarify that.}

After watching the video I had to go down to my basement and dig through my photo albums to find it. The photo Erick had taken of our feet.  While at the time it was taken I thought it was silly, I had no idea the impact it would have on me so many years later. It remains a very real reminder of what we can so easily take for granted; what can so easily be lost; what it so often sacrificed, unnoticed and unappreciated.

I love how this video captures the childhood friend I remember. It is all so Erick. Now get yourself some tissues and enjoy.

Read this for a little more of Erick and Mandy's story. This is just one moving story of many who have sacrificed for our country. I am so grateful to all who have given their lives, their time, their limbs and their all so we can continue to have the freedoms we enjoy. 

To the spouses who hunker down while the soldier is away, my heart goes out to you. You have my utmost respect. You are in my prayers.

I'm so proud to be an American.

Happy Memorial Day.