Perspective: Grieving parents find solace in each other

ARLINGTON, Va. — Among the headstones of Iraq and Afghanistan war dead buried in Arlington National Cemetery is a small but growing community of broken hearts who have found one other.

Most are the mothers of dead soldiers and Marines. They make journeys of grief, spending hours at the graves writing letters, tending flowers or simply mourning in silence. As time passes, one grieving parent has reached out to another with a touch on the shoulder, a smile or a hug to build a lasting network of support.

“It’s a club nobody wants to be in,” says Paula Davis, who sets up her lawn chair each week at the grave of her son, Army Pfc. Justin Davis. The 19-year-old was killed in a friendly fire incident in Afghanistan on June 25.

“But here we are,” Davis says. “So we look after each other.”

Read the rest at Army Times