Discovery Bay man honors fallen son nearly 20 years after fateful door knock; "Your world falls apart"
Discovery Bay man honors fallen son nearly 20 years he was killed in Iraq
Discovery Bay man honors fallen son nearly 20 years he was killed in Iraq
Discovery Bay man honors fallen son nearly 20 years he was killed in Iraq
Pictures and tributes to his son, Joseph Anthony Graves, hang from walls and are displayed on shelves at Kevin Graves' home.
There's a picture on his computer, too, that he'll always keep.
"This was the last physical contact I had with him, and I'm so blessed to have this horribly grainy picture of my son and I together," said Graves.
The photo of father and son embracing for the last time was taken on November 7, 2005.
Less than nine months later, Graves got a knock on his door.
"She said, 'Kevin, there's two soldiers. There's two soldiers on the front porch," said Graves.
Kevin raised Joey in Discovery Bay as a single dad. He signed the papers for his then-17-year-old to enlist in the Army in 2003. The high school senior wanted to serve in the military in the aftermath of 9/11.
Joey was just 21 years old when he was killed in Baghdad, Iraq, on July 25, 2006.
"That's the day that your world falls apart," said Graves.
Nearly 20 years have passed. But the tears and heartache for a child's life cut short never go away.
"I just stared out at the water. I just stood at that window right there and stared out at the water," said Graves.
Graves remembers Joey looking out for the ones who weren't always embraced, the underdogs.
"Those are the people that Joey liked to help," said Graves. "He was a leader from behind. He wasn't necessarily a leader from in front."
As Graves honors his fallen soldier, remembering times of laughter and joy embracing his child, and standing next to his best man, he hopes the rest of the country will also take a moment to remember.
"I want everybody to take a moment and think about why they have those freedoms that they have," said Graves. "That's because of the sacrifices that have been paid by hundreds of hundreds of thousands of service members throughout the centuries who have given their lives so we can live in this freedom."
A freedom that comes with a cost, on this Memorial Day.
Graves also joined the military when he was 53 years old, serving as a chaplain. He runs the foundation, Some Gave All - the Joey Graves Foundation, with a mission to honor the fallen, support those who fight, and serve their families.
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