Garrison Avery – just the name rings with memories and proud, happy thoughts for many people – especially for me, his mother.

Garrison was a person who loved to be and do. He spent his 23 years on this earth thinking and acting upon his ideas. From his youth, he had ideas – ideas that stuck with him until their fulfillment. He started showing those tendencies early in life. For his third birthday, he knew what he wanted. He started asking, well before May 2, for roller skates. As the days drew closer, we knew what to get – roller skates. I well remember the hours spent holding the hands of that little boy as we went up and down the sidewalk learning to balance and skate.

Garrison showed a taste for adventure that included not only himself, but his brothers and his sister. The binoculars, another birthday gift request, were readily shared and the thrill of car rides while looking through the binoculars was soon discovered by all.

Many memories of Garrison revolve around his days planning and anticipating being in the Army. That was a goal from his early years. As a 10-year-old, he wrote to Nebraska Senator Bob Kerrey and asked about entrance requirements for West Point. From that time on, he did not waiver, but spent his days preparing for the Academy.

As Garrison prepared for West Point, he was single minded. His friends and family knew his goal and none were surprised when he received his Letter of Acceptance in October of his senior year.

In January, Garrison and his dad went off to the big city to view West Point. They had a great trip. Garrison came back quietly. He was not one to tell all his thoughts, but it was obvious that he was ready, willing, and able to pursue that dream of West Point to its end and then to serve in the United States Army.

West Point holds many wonderful memories for us. Garrison made good friends there, learned much, and developed into a thinker, a doer, and a compassionate person. Compassionate may not be the way to describe an Army officer, but Garrison was that. He knew his job, he strove to do it well, but he also held a high regard for the value of individuals. He valued his relationships with people.

Garrison’s days at West Point were a fulfillment of his dreams. During those days, we missed him and waited eagerly for his calls and short emails – “Hi Momsie.” Those are memories that we treasure. It was while at West Point that Garrison met Kayla on a weekend trip with a buddy to Wisconsin. She became his wife on November 24, 2004 – at the time of graduation from Officer Basic.

After Ranger training, Garrison and Kayla moved to Clarksville, TN. They celebrated their 2nd wedding ceremony at West Point in June of 2005. We visited them in their home in Clarksville in August, and Garrison was deployed in September of 2005.

During his days in Iraq, we talked eagerly on the phone and anticipated his return. His return to the United States was not in God’s plan. Instead, Garrison was killed on February 1, 2006 in Mamidyia, Iraq.

Garrison was one of a kind – a rare individual that we would like to have known for many years – but we know God to be sovereign. We trust in His truths that we shall be reunited in the land that has no more tears or sorrow and is filled with many loved ones who have gone on before.