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Service and Sacrifice: Gold Star Families Remember Loved Ones

Maureen Wurtz

OMAHA (KPTM)- Veteran's Day celebrations took place all across the country. Everyone, from the President to ordinary people, spent the day thanking Veterans.

However, some local families can't tell their sons "Thank You" anymore.

"For the gold star families, every day is Memorial Day. Every day is Veterans Day," said Larry Cahill.

"Robert's dream was always to serve in the military. He goes, this is my dream, so he died doing what he loved doing. He was so proud to be an American," said Barb Yllescas-Vorthman.

Cahill and Yllescas-Vorthman are members of the ‘Gold Star Club.' Both lost sons, who were husbands and fathers, during the ‘War on Terror.'

"It's not a club that you want to belong to," said Yllescas-Vorthman. Her son, Captain Robert Yllescas, was died four years ago, on Dec. 1^st, 2008. A roadside bomb in Afghanistan hit him at the end of October that year.

Cahill's son, Captain Joel E. Cahill, was killed seven years ago in Iraq.  "(Veteran's Day) Lets me know that people haven't forgotten the sacrifices that we've all made, and the families have made," said Yllescas-Vorthman.

A sacrifice that, both said, their son's we ready to make. "Freedom demands risk," said Cahill.

The two said, they may not have their sons, but they have faith to get them through the difficult times. "Just my faith in God, knowing that he's in God's army now," said Yllescas-Vorthman.