Letter to the editor: War families do not grieve alone
· The Washington TimesOPINION:
Last weekend, some American military families observed Memorial Day differently than they had before.
In recent months, during the war with Iran, American service members lost their lives far from home. Families who once observed ceremonies of remembrance from a distance are now learning to live with devastating loss, discovering that what once felt unimaginable has suddenly become their daily reality.
I am the chairwoman of the IDF Widows and Orphans Organization, an Israeli nonprofit that has supported families like mine for 35 years. I am also a military widow. My husband, Lt. Col. Yosef Meydan, was killed in action during the First Lebanon War. I was 27 years old, left to raise our 4-year-old son alone.
This past Memorial Day, I found myself thinking about American women I have never met, women who have suddenly joined the club to which no one ever wants to belong.
I wonder if they will feel what I once felt and to some extent, continue to feel all these years later. Life changes in an instant. You begin noticing small things: the empty chair at the table, the silence at the end of the day, the moments when the rest of the world seems to return to normal while your own life feels permanently altered.
That disconnect can feel deeply isolating. But you are not alone.
Over the past four decades, I have met hundreds of widows who have walked this path. I’ve learned from them and my own loss that grief does not disappear. It changes with time. Life slowly grows around it. You raise your children, you return to work. You learn, little by little, how to carry sorrow and love together.
Healing does not mean forgetting. The person you lost remains part of your life every day, their memory shaping the person you become and the family you continue to build.
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Across Israel, there are thousands of women and children who understand this journey more than words can fully express. We are holding you and your families in our hearts.
From one military widow to many others, please know that even in the darkest moments, you do not walk this road alone.
Chair, IDF Widows and Orphans Organization
Lehavim, Israel
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