TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — On Memorial Day we remember our soldiers that paid the ultimate sacrifice.
"It doesn't go away when you lose somebody. It's there for you till you die."
Sheron Jones knows this first hand. She lost her son Army Staff Sgt. Darrel Kasson.
"My daughter-in-law called me about 10:30 on a Sunday night and told me he had been killed and my world fell apart just completely fell apart," Jones said. That call came on March 4, 2007. "They hit an IED and basically their hummer was flipped upside down and skidded about 500 feet," said Jones.
She wishes every day she could of been there for Darrel's final moments.
"When they finally got Darryl out, they realized that the shrapnel had severed the arteries in his legs and basically he bled to death," Jones said.
Heartbreaking details she knows other mothers are living with. Now Jones is the president of the Tucson Chapter of American Gold Star Mothers.
"Started you know having meetings and talking about our boys and working with them. We're all in the same place. We all understand what we're going through," Jones said.
She works to honor Gold Star mothers like herself and helped bring a memorial to life. "This took me about eight years to get," said Jones.
Thanks to a man and his generous donation, the statue inside Evergreen Cemetery became a reality.
"He says I only have two things that I want done. He says that I had to be the model for the gold star mother and that there had to be a second bench," said Jones.
The mother is on the bench with her two young kids while the boy salutes and holds Darrel's dog tags in his hand.
"The flagpole and the flag was donated by the Vietnam Veterans this around here were donated by the cemetery," said Jones.
This is where you can find her on Memorial Day.
"Mainly I come here and I go by Darrel's grave or I sit over here," said Jones.
She wants to make sure the meaning of today is not lost.
"Most people when they think about Memorial Day, they think about barbecues and get togethers and all this and we don't," Jones said.
Overall, Jones said over 15,600 soldiers are buried here at Evergreen Cemetery. "There's about 45,000 veteran graves in Tucson, which is a lot of graves," Jones said.
Many men and women paying the ultimate sacrifice. "Just take a moment to remember all of our soldiers that have given their lives."
