Writing the Memorial Day tributes within our drag racing community is a privilege I have held close to my heart for the last decade. Finding a veteran within our sport was something I looked forward to doing every year. Allowing those in our community who had proudly served our country always brought tears to my eyes to hear their words of patriotism because even though I never served, I love my country every much as they do. I considered my actions though small in comparison to theirs, as my patriotic duty.

It is my patriotic duty to break from tradition and step aside for a man with whom I have the utmost respect - Louis Brewster.

Louis lost his son on May 5, 2006, when the Chinook he was aboard crashed in the mountains of eastern Afghanistan. An award-winning writer, Louis bravely tells the story of Bryan and his band of brothers who passed away in service of their country.

For the majority of my fellow American countrymen, Memorial Day is a three-day weekend in late May. It's the date our country has selected to honor, remember, pause to reflect and thank men and women who have given their lives for our country.

It's the official day. However, for countless children, wives and husbands, mothers and fathers, grandparents and family members, the true Memorial Day is the figure on the right side of the headstone or memorial plaque in a cemetery.

For the families of John C. Griffin, Christopher T. Howick, Christopher B. Donaldson, Eric W. Totten, Brian M. Moquin Jr., David M. Timmons Jr., Justin L. O'Donohue, Jeffrey Wiekamp, Joseph J. Fenty and Bryan Allen Brewster, May 5 is Memorial Day.

We remember the ultimate sacrifice they made in the rugged mountains of eastern Afghanistan nine years ago in 2006.

While on combat operations in Kunar Province, a CH-47 Chinook with the call sign Colossal 3-1 (tail number 85-24349) assigned to the 10th Mountain Division's 3rd Battalion, 10th Aviation Regiment out of Ft. Drum, N.Y., crashed. There were no survivors.

It was two days later that the Army sent delegations to inform families, spreading total sadness across the country.

For the Brewster family, the saddest, yet most cherished, thought is that Bryan was not on the original manifest, but volunteered to ensure the late night mission would proceed as planned and on schedule.

We have never, despite our grief, asked why. Bryan's family understood his commitment to his fellow troopers and to his mission.

For those these 10 brave men left behind, time is not a healing process, rather a constant remainder. They are missed every day.

Five children lost their fathers that day and those young ones are never far from our minds.

Politics have long faded from the picture. Whether we support our government's decision on the decade-long war or not is no longer important. What we strive to do now is keep the memories and actions of these men alive in our hearts, to be thankful of their short lives and contributions.

All received medals as it was considered by the U.S. Army as a combat mission. However, in a decision I find without merit, none of these 10 brave men were awarded the Purple Heart, the nation's second-most recognized medal behind the Medal of Honor.

It's really the least our government can do to recognize the actions of those who left children behind. Insurance money will run out one day if it hasn't happened already, but a Purple Heart is forever.

It was a combat mission, at night, outside the safety envelope of a Chinook, yet the Army has maintained the crash was not caused by enemy actions.

It is reminiscent of talks between Bryan and his father. Bryan was a black or white-type individual, you're either with me or against me. After a while, he learned that many of us supported those in uniform and their efforts while not agreeing fully with the direction of those in charge.

As a young man, Bryan Brewster showed respect for those in the military. Perhaps it was from a grandfather – Louis C. Brewster – who served in World War II as a young man straight out of the fields of South Texas. Maybe it was from an uncle – Bob Brewster – who served in the 82nd Airborne while Vietnam ripped the country's fabric, or another uncle who served two tours in that war.

It was that very same man, Manuel Hernandez Jr., who has endured despite injuries suffered in that conflict, who snapped to attention and crisply saluted Bryan's casket. It symbolized the love and respect among warriors, a bond deeper than family

Or perhaps it was because of the talk, in revered tones, about a 19-year-old young man – Curly Gujarado – who neither of us ever knew but acknowledged as a hero for losing his life in the skies over Germany in a B-17 more than 70 years ago.

As a teenager, Bryan met an uncle – Refugio Hernandez – who was among Marines who survived the brutal Korean winter at the Chosin Reservoir and another uncle – Jim Brewster – called to duty when East and West went eyeball-to-eyeball at the Berlin Wall.

Bryan was respectful of those men and served within their shadow. And there were many others. We miss all those who have made the ultimate sacrifice to our country. We are grateful. We will never forget.

We take solace in the words of colleague Greg Engle, who has served his country in uniform:

“Never forget not only those who God has called home, but those who are still willing to raise their right hands and swear to defend the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic.