Colorado Mom Honors Her Fallen Son

Thomas Slocum

In contrast to the pathetic turnouts this weekend in anticipation of the third anniversary of the beginning of the war, Terry Cooper, mother of fallen Marine Thomas Slocum, honors her son and helps other grieving Colorado families by attending funerals and offering support/counseling (with touching video):

"Some days you wake up and just start thinking about him," Terry Cooper, Slocum's mother said. "And he's in your thoughts all day long."

Slocum was killed 4 days after the war started. Since then, Cooper and her husband have been helping other families who've lost a son or daughter to the war in any way they can.

"So I figured it'd be better to be more positive and be active with other vets and other memorials and other families than to sit there and hide, hiding doesn't do anything," Cooper said.

Regardless of Cooper's political beliefs or thoughts about the war, she remains steadfast in support of her son by remembering his sacrifice rather than exploiting it for political capital, book deals, and speaking tours. Instead, she makes the rounds helping other families deal with their loss and by remembering what they fought for, ensures that their ordeal will not only be measured for the amount of talking points, canned video, and catchy soundbites that Mother Sheehan and her contingency have produced.