http://www.legacy.com/PoconoRecord/GB/GuestbookView.aspx?PersonId=2433395

Jason,

You’ve been gone for 4 years now and we still love you and miss you beyond words. Life continues, yet we never forget how special you were and how you were such an important person in our lives. Our hearts don’t let go of the memories. And our hearts will always feel the loss.

Your life was cut short at such a young age and you lived your life to the fullest. It still seems so unreal that we can’t see your face or hear your voice. But we can feel your love and your presence and that will sustain us until we are reunited again one day.

Your children are so much like you. Your girls are growing up so fast. They are your legacy and they are a part of you that we cherish immensely.

I can’t say anything that I haven’t said before. You will always be my baby, that little boy that I bonded with since birth and I carry you in my heart. Our love and our bond will never die.

You will always be with me…..

Love Always,
Aunt Dee Dee

Jason,

I am going to save a longer entry for Christmas Eve, but I just wanted to say Happy Birthday sweetheart.

You are loved and missed beyond measure. You are as much of a part of our lives now as you were when you were here with us. You could never be forgotten.

Without you it’s a different world. The missing you never goes away and the loving you never goes away either. You hold such a special place in the hearts of those who were closest to you and we carry you with us wherever we go.

There are more loved ones with you now and I know that one day we will all be reunited. Until that day we continue to love you, miss you and remember you with fondness and smiles for the wonderful loving man that you always were.

Happy Birthday. Until then…..<3

Love Always,
Aunt Dee Dee, Uncle Reyes & Megan

Jason,

Of course my words and thoughts started flowing so what I had written previously wasn’t enough. So here I go again.

29 years ago today you entered this world. You came into our lives, a new extension to the family tree. From the moment I saw you and held you in my arms, we bonded. I have so many nieces and nephews, but you were more than just my nephew and Godson. You were special. You were my boy.

The bond that you and I had, we didn’t share with anyone else. I loved you as if you were my child. You were “my baby” and I was “your Aunt Dee Dee”.

Right now so many memories are flooding my brain and I can smile remembering the different stages of your life that I was a part of.

I was so blessed to share so many memories with you and truly honored to be your Godmother. I always wanted a daughter but I never longed for a son because I had Megan and I had you!

I remember everything and as I do remember, I smile because I can still see your beautiful face and those sparkling blue eyes. Sometimes I can see your eyes in mine…..all I have to do is look in the mirror and I can see them.

You will always be so much more than a memory to me. Your love is a warmth that comforts my heart.

God blessed us the day that you were born and although you are no longer here to celebrate your Birthday, we will always celebrate your life and we will honor and remember you today and everyday.

You were so much more than a nephew and Godson to me. You were a part of me and you will always be a part of me.

With Love Always,
“Your Aunt Dee Dee”

What We Leave Behind

Writing about those who have gone away to another world, another place of existance is not easy to work through.  I may have never met Jason, never knew him as a friend, but it’s incredibly easy to see how many lives he touched, how many hearts he found comfort in, how many people who were blessed to know him that I can confidently say that I am unfortunate for not having had the chance to meet him.

I am still without answers to the questions of his passing.  I cannot conceive the reasons or the mistakes made for why his death came to happen.  I’ve contemplated what may have occured and I continue to think of how it may have happened, but I fear the truth may remain in the realm of the unfathomable.

Then what is left if not questions?  What is left to hold if not justice alone?  What do those who pass on leave behind?

The legacy of people who leave us is not the trials and trepidations they incurred through life.  It is not the pains and sorrows themselves that we remember the most.  Rather it is the wonderful memories of those people that we remember the most and yes, at times those memories can cause us to feel the heartache of that person’s absence.

However, I am certain in the belief that we keep alive the absent by remembering them.  And while their physical body may not be here among us any longer, I feel as though their soul or spiritual aspect is capable of and does come back to us when we think of them.  I believe that at times we can even sense their presence.

The people that Jason loved the most may no longer feel his hand on their shoulder, they may no longer be able to hug him, kiss him, hear his voice or see his smiling face with their eyes.  But inside them he lives on, steadfast in their hearts, loving them from within, where everyday, every second, they can hear his comforting voice and see his smiling face.

I know from personal experience that at some point we begin to worry that we will forget what their face looked like, we worry that one day we will forget them.  But that’s simply not possible, they have left a mark on us that will never wash away, never fade away.

I like to think of each day as a chance to live the life they would want us to.  Another opportunity to cherish the things they gave us and at night when I lay down to sleep, I am comforted in knowing that tomorrow will be one day closer to reuniting with them in a much better place.

Jason is not dead, he cannot truely ever cease to exist.  In every living thing there are elements of everything that came before them, an essence of everything they experienced in this life.  When we pass on, we are not lost to time, we are not forgotten, we are just on another frequency that the rest of the people we left behind are yet to discover.

Think of Jason in this way.  Think of him as being happy, excited in anticipation for the day you will join him there where you can be together again.  We all hold transport passes to the next world and we can never know when that departure time is, but God has a reason for giving us that pre-determined amount of time.

Love Always and Cherish Eternally.

I am so sorry for the loss, Jason’s family has to endure.  I regret never having had the chance to meet him here in this place, but he will never be forgotten.

-Kurt S.F. Mebruer
(A friend of Jason’s Aunt Dee Dee)

 Thank you Kurt. You are a very talented young man with a very special gift.

 Used With Permission by Kurt S.F. Mebruer

08/26/06

I am Vicki Van Horn, the mother of PFC Jason Pirro. On May 11, 2006 I received a package in the mail, (I call this my Mother’s Day package) from The Department of the Navy, NCIS in Washington Navy Yard, D.C. Inside the package were documents and photos of my son’s dead body at the death scene. I surely wouldn’t want another parent to see what I saw in these photos. Those photos and the autopsy photos that I have, don’t add up to what they say happened. It was a shocking Mother’s Day gift. They didn’t even tell me that the package was coming. They don’t care about what happens to our sons or daughters while they’re in the service. They only care about what is being said to make them look good and when things go wrong, they won’t admit that they have a problem there at Camp Geiger. They’ll make my son look bad before they admit anything.

Military life isn’t for everyone and unfortunately our children don’t realize this until they’re in. I have been in touch with my State Rep. and Congressman Kanjorski from the beginning. They have been extremely helpful every step of the way. I have sent certified letters to let the officials know that I need help. This is a Homicide made to look like a suicide. The photos that I have show it. I can’t divulge the specifics at this time. The media needs to look into all of these deaths at Camp Geiger, North Carolina. All these deaths are not Suicides as they claim.

I’m not a mother in denial. I know my son. He loved life and when I last spoke to him, he asked about my car and his last words to me were: “Mom, even if I have to work 2 jobs, it beats being here in this hellhole”! His wife agrees with me that he was murdered. She is with me all of the way. She’ll take care of the girls, since they are young and I’ll do the fighting and speaking up to clear his name and find whoever did this to him. This young man did not need to die the way that he did. The truth will come out.

He died July 15, 2004. It’s been 2 years and no one even told us when the case was closed. There was a tremendous lack of communication and alot of inconsideration from the Marine Corps to his wife and I. They tried to brush me off and they didn’t want to listen to what I had to say. He didn’t do this. One day the TRUTH will come out, my son will be standing tall and the people of interest will come face to face with me. Accountability is key.

Jason and I had and will always have a special bond. We were always close to one another and no one can ever take that away from me. He knows from above in Heaven that I know this was done to him and I will get justice for him! He loved his family dearly. He missed us as much as we missed him and he couldn’t wait to be home with his family. Military life wasn’t for him.

The abuse needs to stop and they have to listen that there is a problem at our own miltary bases here. If there is anyone out there that can help us get justice for Jason, it would be greatly appreciated. The military command would rather cover this up instead of admitting that there is a problem there and punish those that are guilty. Jason did not take his own life like the article mentioned on August 4, 2004, which I did not know it was written. My sister found it and told me about it in The Jacksonville Daily News. No one from the paper ever spoke to his wife or myself.

I’m not giving up and I won’t back down. One day soon, I’ll get justice, clear my son’s name and have his death certificate changed. We should all get together, because all of these young people are not taking their own lives.

Thank you for listening. If you or someone you know can help us, if they know anything, please contact us at the emails on this site. I’ll ruffle the nest as long as it takes to get someone to listen and to get justice. Congress, the Senate and the President of the United States need to correct the problems here. They need to start addressing the abuse, the hazings, the deaths and the cover-ups on our military bases. My son’s death has been covered up, but I need help to uncover it. Thank you for your time.

Sincerely,
Vicki (Pirro) Van Horn sparkyv27@yahoo.com

3rd Anniversary

July 15, 2007

Jason,

You’ve been gone 3 years today and it seems like only yesterday that you were here. The years have gone by so quickly, but the days seem to be so long. You are so loved and missed beyond words. There’s an empty space in our hearts that can never be filled. Our lives are not the same without, yet we keep you ever so close. What can I say that I haven’t said before? Our lives were changed forever by your passing, but the love and the bonds never die.

You will always be with us. And your memory remains as alive as you once were. You are still in the thoughts and hearts of those that were closest to you. You are remembered with a loving warmth that also serves as a comfort to us.

This journey called life continues and you’re never far from us…only a thought away. The memories of you become more dearer and more cherished. And the feeling of loss never goes away. It’s kept in its proper place and of course to honor you we remember the way you lived and loved and the way you made other people feel. It’s those feelings that continue to make us smile.

Your legacy lives on through your children who are growing up so fast. They are a part of you and I know that you are so proud of them and watching over them. Your wife is doing an incredible job. She has shown incredible strength through the loss and has done a wonderful job raising the girls. I know that you are proud of her too.

Your Mom is okay. You know the quest has been long and it has had its twists and turns, yet she endures and keeps going forward, nothing will hold her back. She misses you more and more each day and my heart feels for her. She has endured the worst kind of loss and I admire her incredible strength. I know you are watching over her through this journey. She has you ever so close in her heart. And as I promised you, I’ll always be there for her. She’ll never endure anything alone.

Megan misses you terribly. There’s no words of comfort when someone so close to you passes away. You just have to cope, miss them, love them and remember them. And know that the person you love and miss continues to love you from where they are and that we’ll all be together again someday. You will never be forgotten and the love continues to grow. We love you now as we loved you then and though death may separate us for a little while, the love never leaves. You will always be a part of our lives.

You were such a special person who touched so many lives and you’ll never be completely gone from us. You remain in our hearts forever…..<3

Love Always, Aunt Dee Dee

July 15, 2007

Dear Son,

Jason, I wish we could turn back the hands of time and keep you at the age of 18, to keep you here forever. Jason you gave me so much joy in my life. We looked after each other, even in the good times and the rough times and we made it, you and I.

Jason you gave me and Gary two beautiful granddaughters, they keep me going. They are a part of you. You will live in them and your Mom. Gary loves and misses you very much also. He is taking good care of me, he sees the pain I’m in. That pain will never go away, but he is here to comfort me. He loves you like you were his son. Jason I know you loved Gary back.

You will never be forgotten. Today is three years and I can’t believe it. It feels like you are still here and could walk through these doors, but not my door, it was heaven’s doors that you walked through on July 15, 2004.

Today I’m sending you two balloons filled up with lots of love from us, Aunt Dee Dee and Megan. They love and miss you too. Jason when you look down on everyone from above, you know who loves you.

Our bond is here and like I said, no one can take our bond away not even in heaven, that bond is there always.

All Our Love,
Mom and Gary
(To Our Angel)

I have created this blog in an effort to seek justice in the murder of my nephew and Godson, PFC Jason L. Pirro. I never knew how much physical, mental and verbal abuse people endured at the hands of our military. I come from a family that has proudly served our country ever since our ancestors came to the United States in the early 1600′s. Throughout every war in our American history we had ancestors who served in each and every one of them. 5 of my 6 brothers were in the military, my brothers-in-law were in the military and some of them served in Vietnam. I have always been proud to be an American, and I love my Freedom of Speech and the right to vote. But the way the military abuses its own has truly disgusted me.

We are not allowed to abuse our children and if we do-we get arrested. We cannot go outside and walk up to someone that we dislike and hit them, because if we do, we’ll get arrested for assault. Yet the people who are training our children in the military, can verbally, mentally and physically do whatever they want to the enlisted and noone is ever held accountable and they act as if they don’t have to answer to anyone. It’s like they are a government all by themself. That needs to change.

There are 2 young girls, my great-nieces who will grow up without seeing their Daddy and that isn’t right. Jason was a loving son, father, husband, nephew, cousin and friend. He had the biggest and warmest heart and you could feel the warmth in his hugs. I have to remember that, because we will never feel those hugs again. His death never should’ve happened. They messed with the wrong family and we are going to make sure that there is justice for Jason and his family.

To the military, Jason was a rank, a serial number and a piece of property, but to us he was everything. He was the sweetest person you’d ever meet. When they took his life, they changed our lives FOREVER! And now we will begin the journey to seek justice and to right the wrongs of the military.