Labrador Letter – Gold Star Christmas Tree

Dear Friends,

This Christmas season, I was again deeply honored when Idaho's Star Garnet Chapter of the American Gold Star Mothers asked me to host their Hero Tree in the rotunda of the Idaho State Capitol. The tree was created and meticulously researched by Anna Workman, the director of the Sgt. Chris Workman Memorial Scholarship Fund. The tree a seamless complement to our statehouse decorations as the building is adorned with wreaths and boughs, ribbons, lights and colorful poinsettias.

Despite the festivity, there is a solemnity that deserves our attention. In each handmade ceramic ornament hanging on the tree is a picture of a fallen Idaho soldier, sailor, or airman - 86 in all - since the tragic events of September 11, 2001. Those are 86 Idaho families for whom Christmas is a more somber time - a time of reflection on the profound and personal sacrifices that have been made so we can wake up on Christmas morning surrounded by family and the joy that the season brings us. That is the price for our Republic. We can say our freedom is worth any price, but to look upon the faces of those who paid that cost in full means something far deeper and more personal.

This is the Gold Star gift to us and to our nation - lovingly given without asking anything in return, except remembrance. I ask only one thing on behalf of our Gold Star families - each day, be the kind of American worthy of such a profound sacrifice. It is the very least we can do for those fallen and their families.

I welcome and encourage you all to stop by the Capitol and see this magnificent tree for yourselves. Please take the time to look at the faces of those who sacrificed everything for us and remember the fallen and their families who have shared these precious memories with us during a time of thanksgiving and joy.

Best regards,

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