A Crookston relative lost

We got a couple phone calls from the Associated Press inquiring if we were the family of Duncan Crookston before we decided to look him up on the internet. I also looked him up on the Crookston copy of PAF and it turned out that he was Dave’s third cousin. He had lived in Denver all along - kind of a small world. We googled Duncan’s name daily to learn more and more about this Crookston cousin. We learned about Duncan’s injury in Iraq from a road side bomb that killed three other soldiers and his five month fight for life. Dave and I were both greatly moved by his story. What a brave young man he was to join the military in a time of war. Duncan was the first person I feel like I have some connection with who has died for our country in Iraq. There are many blogs that were on the internet to keep everyone current on Duncan’s status after the injury. He was days away from his 20th birthday when he passed away leaving a wife and a family of Crookstons. Duncan's great-grandfather was the brother of Carlton Crookston, Dave’s great-grandfather. We had wanted to go to the funeral service at the LDS church in Denver but Dave couldn’t leave work and I was afraid to go alone. This all brought home to me the realness of this war. I get so caught up in my life that I forget that there are young men and women fighting for my right to get caught up in my life.