Vermont soldier’s death spurs heartache, healing

Vt. soldier’s death spurs heartache, healing
Times Argus
August 11,2013

“Dear Mom and Dad,” began the handwritten note pulled from his pocket. “By the time you read this I will have died for my country. Please don’t be sad.”

Vermonter Kyle Gilbert’s parents still remember the last words their only child said on the phone before the 20-year-old soldier was killed in Iraq on Aug. 6, 2003: “Just don’t forget me.”

A decade later, they haven’t. They just didn’t anticipate the fallout.

When state leaders and national news crews flocked to Gilbert’s funeral 10 years ago, his hometown of Brattleboro stood united in grief. Then residents split over a proposed memorial on Main Street. His parents divorced. Friends felt torn when his mother and father held separate annual remembrances.

On Saturday, upon his aunt’s urging, Gilbert’s family and neighbors reunited at his hometown VFW.

The public event aimed to honor his memory. But for the hundreds who gathered, it also offered an opportunity to heal.
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