AN INSIDE LOOK
By Bill Gouveia
War is an
awful thing, and in war people die.
Those people have homes, families, friends and neighbors who care about
them. They all come from somewhere, both
originally and lately. We read about
them in the newspapers and see and hear their stories on radio and
television. We appreciate the grim
sacrifice they have made for us, and we mourn their loss.
But Master
Sgt. Gregory R. Trent didn’t come from just anywhere. He came from Norton, the small town I have
called home for almost all my 56 years on this planet. He was one of our kids – one of Norton’s boys
– and he gave his life in defense of his country. And that has affected me in a far greater way
than I anticipated.
I didn’t
know Master Sgt. Trent, or at least I never remember meeting him. He graduated from Norton High School in
1992. That’s the same school my late
father graduated from, where my wife and I graduated from in 1974, and where my
two sons graduated in 1997 and 2000 respectively.
Master Sgt.
Trent learned in the same classrooms where I was taught. He ate lunch in the same cafeteria, exercised
in the same gymnasium, and received his diploma on the same stage. His parents lived in town, he probably
watched or marched in some of the local parades, and he no doubt knew people I
knew and shared many of the same local experiences.
But he went
on to greater service than I ever have or will.
He enlisted in 1998 and volunteered for Special Services in 2006. He earned the Bronze Star Medal and the Purple
Heart, as well other impressive awards.
He had been stationed not only in Afghanistan, but also previously in
Iraq.
Since I did
not know him, I find it a little strange that news of his untimely death has
struck me in this manner. There is
little I am aware of that separates this fine young man from thousands of
others I have read about over the last several years with sorrow and pain. Why should I feel more for him than any of
them? They all gave their lives trying
to make sure I and others like me can continue to enjoy the freedoms we so take
for granted.
But Master
Sgt. Gregory Trent was from Norton, and to me and so many others here that will
make him different. It places this War
on Terror in a different light and perspective than just yesterday. Now maybe that’s wrong. Maybe I should have felt this way about all
the other young lives tragically ended on far away battlefields since that
fateful day of September 11, 2001. But I
didn’t, and though I regret it I can’t change that now.
I wonder if
I ever stood behind Master Sgt. Trent in line at Roche Brothers. Maybe I sat across from him at a picnic table
at the Norton Hot Dog Stand. Did I ever
bump into him coming in or out of Haskins Pharmacy? Was he one of the thousands of kids I saw on
the Norton Youth Baseball fields over the years? Did I ever knock on his family’s door when I
was running for office?
I can’t
help but notice he is not that much older than my own children. That could have been them mortally wounded in
some far away land, being transferred home and dying in a military
hospital. Master Sgt. Trent is survived
by a daughter, and I cannot even fathom my grandson or granddaughter growing up
without their father.
Norton will
always be a small town in my mind, even though it is now a community of about
20,000 people. It is a great place to
live and raise a family. It produces
great citizens who go on to do great things in life. Master Sgt. Gregory Trent will forever be one
of those most remembered.
The horror
of war has come to Norton in a big way.
Our thoughts, prayers and hearts go out to the family of Master Sgt.
Trent. He will forever be a son of
Norton, and an entire town leads a grateful nation in honoring his life and his
memory.
Bill Gouveia is a local columnist and lifelong
Norton resident. He can be emailed at aninsidelook@aol.com
and followed on Twitter at @Billinsidelook.
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