TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Family Ensures Fallen Are Not Forgotten

ADVERTISEMENT

By GEOFF FOX

The Tampa Tribune

Published: May 26, 2008

DADE CITY - Bill Lehmiller doesn't want anyone to forget his nephew, Sgt. Michael R. Lehmiller, or what he did for his country.

In fact, the Tampa man doesn't want anybody to forget the sacrifices of anyone who died serving in the U.S. military.

Last week, he and his wife, Jeanett, placed nearly 1,000 flags on the graves of soldiers at Floral Memory Gardens on Clinton Avenue and Chapel Hill Gardens on U.S. 301.

He said his nephew, a Tampa native and member of the 82nd Airborne Division, was 23 when he and three others were killed by a roadside bomb Aug. 21, 2005, in Afghanistan.

"It happened a week after my birthday," Lehmiller said. "We had a rough year that year. My mother died a month before Mike got killed. That was a blessing in disguise because that news would have taken her out."

The family took some solace knowing that Mike died doing what he loved.

"He looked at the World Trade Center attacks as no different than Pearl Harbor," Lehmiller said.

Today, Lehmiller and his brother, Robert Lehmiller of Utah, will be in Washington, D.C., to observe Memorial Day; Robert Lehmiller, Mike's father, said he would participate in a wreath-laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

They also plan to attend a Memorial Day service at Arlington National Cemetery.

Lehmiller described his son as an avid Buccaneers fan who loved drag racing and skydiving.

"He wanted to continue to serve his country through the war," he said. "He really believed in what he was doing and that he could spare his younger brothers, William and Elliott, from having to serve."

After his son died, Lehmiller started Mike's Guardian Eagle Foundation, a nonprofit organization that raises money for struggling military families.

Although Bill Lehmiller never served in the military, he said he regrets that many people view Memorial Day as little more than a day off.

"It's about paying respect," he said. "I was disappointed after I put an ad in the paper asking for volunteers to help place the flags. I contacted a Boy Scout troop but never heard back. Our youth needs to realize the sacrifices that are made. Our freedoms aren't protected by anybody but the military.

"I think people need to step back and think of Memorial Day and what it's intended for, whether you believe in the current war or not."

HELPING MILITARY FAMILIES

To learn more about Mike's Guardian Eagle Foundation, visit www.mikesguardianeaglefoundation.org.

Reporter Geoff Fox can be reached at (813) 779-4613 or gfox@tampatrib.com.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT