I picked up what was left of him: Honoring my friend this Memorial Day

"Do it. Go on, Hoff, don't be a p---y. That knife will clear the drain," Robert Posivio told me. "Just angle the blade in there and don't be a p---y. C'mon."

The blade did clear the chicken bone, meat and other stuff while getting destroyed by the Navy garbage disposal. Two inches of the blade remained.

Posivio and I were friends for a bit if only because dudes find commonality and we were both quick with a joke.

Robert C. Posivio III was killed on May 23, 2006, in Anbar Province, Iraq. He died alongside four other Marines and an interpreter. I picked up what was left of Posivio so he could be properly buried in Michigan.

I miss our jokes, giving grief to each other and, more importantly, how funny of a dude he was.

I miss him all the time and can hear him making fun of me whenever I do something stupid. But my friends are only a small portion of the reason for the Memorial Day holiday.

Memorial Day is meant to honor our war dead, while also celebrating what we have as a nation.

The colors should be lowered to half-staff after being raised in the morning, then raised back to full-staff promptly at noon. This signifies the somber memorial in the morning and the celebration of what we've earned later.

I hope we all live a life worthy of the sacrifice of those who went to war and never came home.

In honor of the 20th anniversary of Operation Iraqi Freedom, here's a list of our local service members that paid the ultimate price:

• Eric James Bernholtz, Lance Cpl., Marine Corps, 2005.
• Jacob Parke Dohrenwend, Spc., Army, 2010.
• Christopher Jenkins Dyer, Lance Cpl., Marine Corps, 2005.
• Nicholas Brandon Erdy, Lance Cpl., Marine Corps, 2005.
• Warren Andrew Frank, Capt., Marine Corps, 2008.
• Branden Patrick Haunert, Pvt., Army, 2008.
• David Kenneth John Kreuter, Sgt., Marine Corps, 2005.
• Keith Matthew Maupin, Staff Sgt., Army, 2008.
• Ricky Lee Mcginnis, 1st Sgt., Army, 2006.
• Nicolas Edward Messmer, Spc., Army, 2005.
• James Hoyt Miller IV, Spc., Army, 2005.
• Richard Thomas Pummill, Staff Sgt., Marine Corps, 2005.
• Aaron Howard Reed, Lance Cpl., Marine Corps, 2005.
• Marlin Tyrone Rockhold, Pfc., Army, 2003.
• Gregory Scott Rogers, Sgt. 1st Class, Army, 2006.
• Timothy David Roos, Cpl., Marine Corps, 2006.
• Adam Roger Shepherd, Pfc., Army, 2006.
• Tyler Bobbitt Swisher, Capt., Marine Corps, 2005.
• Bryan Nicholas Taylor, Lance Cpl., Marine Corps, 2006.
• Anthony Michael Kress Vinnedge, Sgt., Army, 2007.
• Charles Joseph Webb, Sgt., Army, 2004.
• Robert Francis Weber, Cpl., Army, 2006.
• Mark Anthony Wojciechowski, Staff Sgt., Marine Corps, 2009.

Source: Defense Manpower Data Center's Defense Casualty Analysis System