 I was off that day and I was just getting ready to leave the house and I got a text from a friend inquiring what ship was Xavier O'odham and I said the Fitzgerald, I didn't think anything of it. Went out, came back and noticed my mom had called and you know she called me, called me, called me and then the other message was from the same person showing me pictures of the Fitzgerald had a collision. So honestly I'm on the television of this, I'm calling him and no answer and oh my gosh you're just glued by the TV and the laptop is right there and the phone, I mean everything is right there and you're just something, something, something. And then I said a quarter to three in the morning you get a knock at the door and initially no one's knocking at my door three in the morning. By the time I got down there there at left and when I opened up the door the cart fell down, it was wishing between the doorknob and the United States Navy and I knew it. Then I called and they were still in the neighborhood and they came back and I'm just pacing in the driveway and then they, so maybe we should go in, maybe you should sit down and there's the seven and it's you know you don't want to believe okay it is the seven but you don't want to believe you know they're somewhere, they're, this can't happen. And you're just waiting and waiting and then finally they showed up like I said 21 hours later confirming. When you have a child you theoretically you fall in love with them, there's no different than any other relationship. You take pictures, you can't wait to go home, when my kid was born I cut the cord, I held him before his mother, I did everything. I couldn't wait to get home to see him you know my car just filled up with the anticipation. So fast forward, 24 years old, there's no different than any other relationship. You come home from work and this person is breaking up with you and you're in love with this person because it is a relationship okay and your first thing human nature is I can change please don't leave I can and we've all been through that in a relationship and this person does not want to hear it and they just left the keys, didn't pack, no forwarding email, no forwarding Skype, nothing. I wasn't ready to break up with my son. I was not ready to say goodbye and people say well you have memories. Memories just brings on pain because you remember the good things and everything else you know and I'm, I need more than that. I'm used to as Texas, I was used to a Skype and emailing you know dot mail what happened you know it's our relationship we not only were we best friends I mean I was father and son but you know I put ink on my arm because of him. It's different I was talking to my mom yesterday and we were talking about the four army guys who just got ambushed and she said you know it beforehand you would be just before all this happened she looked at it like wow that's really sad but now you can actually relate it takes it to a whole different level you know you can relate your heart goes out you want to do something for these people. Since this tragedy with my son it's amazing how the whole nation has just come together I mean I just going through cards have roughly over 300 cards and maybe I know maybe 10 of these people and people have just sent cars Afghan raps I mean you just everything people the whole nation has just come together to honor and to offer their condolences to the loss of my son. Definition of Veterans Day. Before being a vet I was pretty much like any other person on the planet in the United States over the day that we got off. Being prior military being a veteran and even more so within the last four months with my son losing his life in the United States Navy it's a whole different meaning altogether. When he joined the Navy he was stationed at the National Security well actually he was employed by the National Security Agency and his whole track it was set positive okay they wanted him to enroll in a program if he was accepted they were going to give him a free ride to his doctorate and all he had to do was give time and a half back to the agency and six months later he resigned and joined the military and when I inquired Xavier Wood brought this change on he quoted me he said that you always said that every male should join some branch of the service because it rounds off the rough edges and I couldn't argue with that. I believe in it I'm a patriot I believe in the mission and now it just every day to me now since the accident on the Fitzgerald it's been a veteran's day to me that's just me I find it very comforting going out to Arlington and sitting at his marker and just sitting there and just this amazing place that you just sit there and look at all the fallen soldiers and sailors and airmen and Marines that are buried there it's a whole different connotation altogether now for me I get it it's not just go out and show your DD 214 and get a free meal okay it's a lot more than that you know it's a it's a brotherhood military is a brotherhood