On this Memorial Day weekend, I have been thinking a lot about the warrior. As a writer, I do not pretend to be one. However, I have the privilege of interviewing them, listening to them, learning from them, and hearing their stories. In all of my novels there is a common element: the warrior. I did not set out to get inside the hearts and minds of fictional warriors. Nevertheless, it is what I love to do because the various mentalities of warriors fascinate me.

But fiction is very different than reality. In my novels, I have chosen the ending and determine the outcome of the warrior. In real life, a member of the military chooses a life of uncertainty—when they will leave, where they will go, if they will be fighting, peacekeeping, building, or supporting a region. These men and women have essentially chosen a career where their lives are not always their own. When duty calls, they leave.

On Memorial Day, we honor those who have fallen in honor of their country. In America this day falls on the last Monday of May. It is a weekend full of family activities, beach time, grilling, and celebrating the unofficial beginning to summer. As I write this post, the sun is high in the sky over the pacific and the sound of laughter fills the shoreline as the smell of barbeque fills the air. People are getting off work early to begin the weekend of fun. It is a gorgeous moment, but it is also so much more.

On the beautiful island of Oahu, I am surrounded by many military bases from all different branches. Every day I see men and women serving in the military. For many this weekend is a time to relax, but for men and women I see in Vietnam, WWII and Korean War hats, giving a nod to a memory of time-served, this weekend has meaning. It has a purpose. It is to salute their brothers and sisters who didn’t return.

This is the crux of why I write about the warrior. The mentality of giving a life for a brother or sister in combat is a type of love that I do not believe can be fully understood until you are a warrior. A love so deep, so profound, that it is innate in their being. I am always in search of different definitions of love, and this is another aspect of love I am struggling to describe—the love of a service member for those men and women they have served beside.

In many of my books, I try to take the perspective of these men or women to explain their motivations, but in truth it is something truly extraordinary. I will continue to write about the duty, love, and honor of warriors in my novels because I hold these men and women in a special place in my heart. On this day, and every day, thank you to the true heroes: the warriors who gave their lives in service of their country.

Happy Memorial Day, my friends.

For those of you who would like to share their perspective on the heart of a warrior, or post a thank you to someone, please do!