SAN ANTONIO – For two San Antonio mothers, Memorial Day is personal. Not only did they serve in the military, they each had to bury a son who was killed while serving our country.
Carla Sizer, who retired from the U.S. Air Force after 21 years of service, lost her 19-year-old son, Dale Balcon, in Iraq in 2007. Balcon was killed by an improvised explosive device.
"I don't breathe without thinking about him," Sizer said. "It's another year that we have to go through without him. And we just miss him."
Candy Martin, who retired from the U.S. Army after a 38-year career, also lost her son, Thomas Martin, in 2007 in Iraq. Martin, 27, was a 1st lieutenant and a sniper platoon leader.
"He was on his first and only deployment when he was killed," Martin said.
Martin remembers the last conversation she had with her son.
"I had served in Iraq from 2005 to 2006. I knew the dangers. We all knew the dangers. We watched the news," she said. "But after telling him all the reasons, after four rounds of back and forth, he finally looked at me and said, 'It's what we do.'"
Sizer and Martin said they want to not only recognize their sons, but all fallen soldiers.
The women are members of Gold Star Mothers, an organization that honors sons and daughters through service to veterans and patriotic events.
Martin will be the featured speaker at USAA's Memorial Day event.
"I don't celebrate Memorial Day. I observe it. I honor it. To me, it's a very reverent day," Martin said.
No matter how others spend the holiday, both mothers hope that people will at least acknowledge that the United States is the land of the free because of the brave.
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