HONORING COL. AARON BURGSTEIN

摘要

It was a normal workday in mid-January at the Air Force Association's national office in Arlington, Va., but the voicemail message on my phone was anything but typical. An emotional, yet emphatic, voice gripped my heart the second I heard it. "My name is Judith Burgstein," said the voice on the message. "I would like to establish a scholarship. It's very important that you please call me back today." I'd received calls before from individuals wanting to create scholarships, but I could sense that this call was different. After forwarding the message to office colleagues, we had several moving discussions with Judith Burgstein and her husband, Michael, about their son, Col. Aaron D. Burgstein. With each interaction, I grew more saddened as the picture became clearer. Just days later, the world said good-bye to Aaron Burgstein. After a years-long, on-again, off-again battle with brain cancer, he succumbed to the disease on Jan. 27 at age 43. He was interred on Feb. 9 at Arlington National Cemetery.