Dog Tags Anyone?

DNA testing was required to confirm identification of the children slaughtered at Robb Elementary. Yet, despite the use of one of the greatest forensic tools available, the last child was identified just short of midnight, twelve hours after the shooting.

Keep in mind that Robb Elementary is a small school in a small community where familiarity with one another is the norm, not the exception. “Everybody knows everybody” said the man charged with the identification.

This man, Eulalio Diaz Jr. , was given photos and descriptions of the clothing worn that day. He knew one of the teachers as well as the parents and grandparents of several of the children. And yet, it still took him twelve hours. One identification every 40 minutes or so on average. Imagine being any of the parents whose child was taken this day. Imagine then, being the one who had to stand in line the longest.

There was a defiant indignation that sometimes bordered on the celebratory exhibited by some of the keynote speakers at the convention In Houston this past weekend; a weekend where the slaughter in Uvalde was front and center, the bodies still fresh and the custom coffins yet prepared. Much of the defiance was met with applause and much of it made little sense when held up against the standard that is common. That is how these things have come to be. This is the America that so many before us, who gave their all, would not accept or recognize. Of this, I am convinced.

On this Memorial Day weekend, a time I usually spend giving thanks and honoring those that sacrificed all so that my life could be better and that this country could continue to stand and evolve, I have instead been consumed by the thought of unidentifiable children, stacked in piles and in pools of one another’s blood. They gave their all, just as the heroes before them and, make no mistake, their deaths will make a difference. It just remains to be seen in what manner.

If I were a parent of a small child today, I would not be concerned with taking my child to Disneyworld or fearful of the the chance of their one day taking an advanced course in college that teaches of the shortcomings that are woven in the tapestry of our history. I would instead be worried that the day will come when name tags, badges or , yes, dog tags even would be a necessary school supply.

Call your congressman and ask them to do something, to do anything beyond just thoughts and prayers.