What to Know
- Rosanna Powers lost her little brother, Marine Lance Cpl. Caleb Powers and her fiancé Marine Sgt. Richard Lord in Iraq in 2004
- She wants people to know the true meaning of Memorial Day and what it means to be a Gold Star Survivor
- Powers encourages people to find other Gold Star families and do something in honor of their loved ones
A mother who is Marine Corps veteran herself is speaking out about what it means to be a Gold Star Survivor and what Memorial Day really means.
A Gold Star Survivor is someone whose family member has died serving their country, but for Rosanna Powers it was a double tragedy.
She found out in 2004 that her little brother, Marine Lance Cpl. Caleb Powers, was killed in action overseas. Then, just the very next day she got more heart-wrenching news that her fiancé and the father of her 13-year-old son, Marine Sgt. Richard Lord had also been killed in the same Iraqi province as her brother.
She said her story was passed by her local newspaper in Trenton, Florida, but now it is making the rounds on Facebook instead under the post “My Memorial Day.”
She said she wants people to truly understand the meaning of the holiday.
“There's people who died for them and they don't know and they could learn about them,” Powers said. “They gave their lives and our families are suffering. We didn't want to give up that person but they gave something bigger than themselves to everyone and the least they could do is try to learn something about them."
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Powers said Lord loved to barbecue and hang out by the river so that is what they do on Memorial Day. She encourages people to find other Gold Star families and do something in honor of their loved ones.
