Memorial Day Story

You’ve seen the meme. Here’s the true story behind it.

A few years ago I saw this meme on Memorial Day weekend. I didn’t make it, but I wanted to know the story behind it. No one who posted ever said who James was, or who the woman is, so I researched it.

Sgt. James John Regan, who was 26 and from Manhasset, N.Y., died February 9, 2007, in northern Iraq. (Photo: John Moore, Getty Images)

This is Mary McHugh at the Arlington National Cemetery grave (Section 60 Site 8535) of her fiancé, Sgt. James John Regan, who was 26 and from Manhasset, N.Y. He died February 9, 2007, in northern Iraq of wounds suffered when an IED exploded near his vehicle while on combat patrol. Regan was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, at Fort Benning, Georgia. He was the third graduate of Chaminade High School to die in the Iraq war, and had been named a member of the National Honor Society.

He played lacrosse in high school. “He had the ability to dominate a game by himself,” said the school’s coach, Jack Moran, “but he led by example and leadership. He’s one of these unique kids who make everybody better.”

Regan had intended to go to law school, but the 9/11 attacks occurred while he was in college, killing many of the citizens of his home town, and upon graduation he joined the Army Rangers. He had earned the Bronze Star, the Purple Heart, and several other medals. “He said, ‘If I don’t do it, then who will do it?’” Miss McHugh said. “He…