Editor, Gazette-Journal:

Graves are not empty. Graves are holy ground that preserves the memories and honors the dead. They are places of comfort for the people left behind to come.

To the person who stole the angel from my son’s grave on Christmas Eve, let me tell you about the person that is buried there.

My son, Jack, was abandoned and criminally neglected by his birth mother at six months old and taken to the burn/trauma unit. He required a great deal of medical care, love and support just to survive … and survive he did!

A nurse in the unit became very attached to her little patient and later became his foster mom. Mom and her three other children took to this little guy and gave him a place in their home and hearts.

After two and a half years, Social Services decided that Jack needed a permanent home. As a single mom with kids of her own, his foster mom was not considered eligible to adopt. Jack was taken after two and a half more years and 22 court hearings from his foster home and family. They grieved painfully and Jack did not want to leave the only family that he knew.

For five years, his foster mom, family and friends fought for his return to his family. Mom wrote everyone that she thought might help her. Social workers, lawyers, doctors, senators, Congressmen—more than 200 during Jack’s absence.

A single mom, with all her responsibilities for her three children, could not adopt a child. But, the persistence, love and support finally impressed the right people and Jack came home—legally adopted. What a miracle!

Jack grew to become a very industrious young man with a deep work ethic and a passionate love for family. He married and had a beautiful daughter. She was the most amazing little girl he could ever imagine. The love and bond between the two were superb.

Sadly, the marriage ended but his daughter continued to be paramount in his life and she adored him. Jack began to create a new life for himself—new job, new friends and a new family.

Then the unimaginable happened. Jack was called to make the supreme sacrifice, dying to protect the ones he loved. One life given to save five!

So you see, the grave is not empty. It carries the remains of a "hero." I called him "son" because I married his mom—the nurse who adopted the little abandoned boy years ago.

Why you chose to steal the angel standing vigil over his tomb, I’ll never know. Now that you know who is in the tomb, will you return the angel?

Harry D. Borbe

Gloucester Point, Va.