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This Memorial Day Weekend let us honor those lost for the noblest of reasons, the politics of it all aside. Appalachia has sent many sons to fight the battles of this great nation, while great numbers have not returned home. So please share some honorable Appalachian names in the comments. I’d like to remember Jared William Kubasak, 25, of Rocky Mount, VA (my hometown). He was assigned to the 3rd Squadron, 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment, Fort Carson, Colorado, and was killed December 12th 2005 when an improvised explosive device detonated near his M2A2 Bradley Fighting Vehicle, while conducting patrol operations in Baghdad. I grew up around Jared since elementary school, where he was a year above me. We would play after school waiting on our parents to come pick us up. We lost touch as we got older and into high school, where my last memory of him was getting into a fight. I didn’t know he had even joined the military until I learned of his passing, but I’m proud of the man I heard he’d become. This was his second tour so chances are we crossed paths in Iraq back in 03 and never knew it. To date he is the only Franklin County, VA resident to lose his life on the battlefield in Iraq/Afghanistan, which is such a blessing considering the numbers who have served. Rest easy brother.