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May 29, 2025
Not every Memorial is Carved in Stone...
It was a cold Monday night in November, 2018 when I decided to stop by O'Faolains - my favorite Irish Pub on my way home.
The bar was busy, but I found an open seat next to a guy I'd never seen before.
He had a pint of Guinness in front of him-and another full one in front of the empty seat beside him.
When my friend Pete arrived, the guy sitting at the bar asked if Pete needed a seat.
Pete said not if he was saving the seat for his friend.
The guy said no problem and moved the Guinness he was saving for his friend closer to his seat.
Pete and I struck up a great conversation with the guy at the bar touching on technology, Amazon's new headquarters, real estate values and sports.
He seemed to be a great guy.
About 30 minutes later our new friend got up to leave - he had two small children he needed to get home to.
He paid his bill, got up, thanked us for our time and headed home.
Only then, did Pete and I notice the napkin under the pint of Guinness.
It read:
"CPL Charles Gaffney
101st Airborne, KIA AFG
24 DEC 2008
Till Valhalla"That pint wasn't for a friend running late.
It was for a friend who never came home.
He had ordered the Guinness in memory of his friend Cpl. Charles Gaffney who had been killed in Afghanistan on Christmas Eve 10 years earlier.
Suddenly life got really real...
Pete and I slid the full pint of Guinness across the bar so it was positioned between us.
We then decided we needed to learn more about Cpl. Gaffney.
A quick internet search revealed he was 42 when he was killed in action in 2008, meaning he would have been 52 if he were still alive that night in 2018.
When he went back to active duty in 2008, Cpl. Gaffney had already served six years in the Army in the mid-1980s and had re-upped in 2006.
When his friends asked him why he was going back he said it was because he thought it was important to "...protect people's rights around the world".
I know Memorial Day was Monday and for many people it is just another holiday - a day off from work - but please, remember that it is a day to honor all those, like Cpl. Gaffney who gave their lives so that we can enjoy the freedoms we often take for granted.
Additionally, when you have a chance to meet someone who is serving, or has served, make sure you let them know how much you appreciate what they are doing or have done.
It's not about right or left, it's not about politics.
It's about people who risk everything because they believe in something bigger than themselves.
Thank you, Cpl. Gaffney.
Thank you to all who serve.
And to those who gave everything - we remember you.
