A PROMISE MADE, A PROMISE KEPT

Today I surrendered a valuable possession. A selfish part of me wanted to hold onto a simple silver keepsake because of the powerful emotional connection to it, but the better part of me wanted to give it away as quickly as possible. At a lunch table overlooking the breathless view of the San Francisco Bay, I took off a bracelet that I have been wearing since Christmas Eve and firmly placed it on the wrist of its rightful owner.

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There are no gemstones to adorn it, but it is worth more than gold to its new recipient, the mother of fallen soldier Lance Cpl. Travis Layfield of Hayward, Calif. It first belonged to Sgt. Chavez, a Marine recruiter in San Francisco's Bay Area, who brought 19-year old Lance Cpl Travis Layfield to the brotherhood. He wore it for two-and-a-half years after his young recruit was killed April 6, 2004, in Ramadi fighting al-Qaida terrorists who desperately tried to defeat our American fighting forces to keep that war torn neighborhood as a stronghold for radical Islamic thugs. Layfield's name, and the date he was killed in action is etched into the aluminum band, rubbed down by Sgt. Chavez's sweat and sacrifice for his country. Now the print is barely visible to the naked eye.

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