The story still hangs in front of me, taped to the wall “Veteran of 3 wars, 8 5, dies in home invasion.”

It’s dated July 29, 2009. It’s July 29, 2022 and still no suspects, no charges, no one held accountable. 13 years is a long time. Leads are cold, evidence is rotting away in some storage facility, and no one is wondering how this happened in our community, because, we’re almost desensitized to death and violence. We aren’t shocked, mad, disgusted, unless it happens to us.

We even quickly forget school shootings, we forget it all, and keep on trying to get by, while our legislators do the opposite of something to stop the violence- they vote to let anyone carry a gun, put guns in teachers hands after 24 hours of training, and think more guns makes us safer. When in fact, that’s the opposite of what more guns do.

I never knew the Sgt. Major- but, I knew a few others – and if someone broke into their house and got the best of them, even at an advanced age, they would be a real menace to society, not just a random jerk. That person or persons who killed North Woodall, by blunt force trauma to the head, would do it again. And may have.

All I hope is that before I die, someone pays the price for what they did to this veteran.

Every year, I hope this is the last anniversary that I remind my readers of this crime.

It makes me sad that here I am again.