Posthumous Letters & Recognition
My brother passed away KIA on 6/20/07. I had written the following essay soon
Bless Him and I miss him terribly.
“David John Bentz III, that’s my brother’s name. I don’t see him everyday, not
even once a week, more like a couple times a year if I’m lucky. But I feel him. Not
physically feeling him, but feeling his name. Little punched out letters on a
squarish metal necklace. This necklace, his dog tag, is the most important thing to
me. Everytime I feel it dangling off my neck, or hearing the sound it makes when it
squeezes through the bumps on my chain, it reminds me of him, and how much I
miss him.
A dog tag is such a small thing, but it represents something so much bigger, my
love for him. Just as we were kids, playing with toys and sharing our ninja turtle t-
shirts. But through it all I knew he would one day get out of the loop and he
proved it to me the moment he gave me his dog tag. He didn’t only prove how
much I loved him, but how I love his strength, his courage, his will to go on. He
proved it to himself, not just me, that he could be the man he always wanted to be.
There was never a doubt in my mind that he couldn’t be that person.
Anyway, back to the dog tag. I don’t wear it everyday. I just never know how I’ll
be feeling that day. If I’m in a depressed mood and I look at it, it will only make
me break down and cry. My brother will be leaving me soon for a year and a half,
but his presence will always be with me. Just knowing that I have touched
something he touched, smelled something he smelled, gives me the strength to
believe. Believe in just one more day, one more week, one more month, one more
year. I never imagined something so small could be such a big support system in
my life.
I love you DJ..
Proud Soldier’s Sister
Gabrielle Bentz
Bless Him and I miss him terribly.
“David John Bentz III, that’s my brother’s name. I don’t see him everyday, not
even once a week, more like a couple times a year if I’m lucky. But I feel him. Not
physically feeling him, but feeling his name. Little punched out letters on a
squarish metal necklace. This necklace, his dog tag, is the most important thing to
me. Everytime I feel it dangling off my neck, or hearing the sound it makes when it
squeezes through the bumps on my chain, it reminds me of him, and how much I
miss him.
A dog tag is such a small thing, but it represents something so much bigger, my
love for him. Just as we were kids, playing with toys and sharing our ninja turtle t-
shirts. But through it all I knew he would one day get out of the loop and he
proved it to me the moment he gave me his dog tag. He didn’t only prove how
much I loved him, but how I love his strength, his courage, his will to go on. He
proved it to himself, not just me, that he could be the man he always wanted to be.
There was never a doubt in my mind that he couldn’t be that person.
Anyway, back to the dog tag. I don’t wear it everyday. I just never know how I’ll
be feeling that day. If I’m in a depressed mood and I look at it, it will only make
me break down and cry. My brother will be leaving me soon for a year and a half,
but his presence will always be with me. Just knowing that I have touched
something he touched, smelled something he smelled, gives me the strength to
believe. Believe in just one more day, one more week, one more month, one more
year. I never imagined something so small could be such a big support system in
my life.
I love you DJ..
Proud Soldier’s Sister
Gabrielle Bentz
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