The front-page headline in today’s Fresno Bee says, “A lost ‘brother’” but all I could think of was “a lost mother.”

My condolences go out to Carol Piercy, mother of Staff Sgt. Brian Piercy, whose funeral was held Friday in Peoples Church. I met Carol several years ago, doing a story on her for The Fresno Bee. She was being honored as one of America’s finest algebra teachers. I never have forgotten watching her weave magic with letters and numbers in her colorful and vibrant classroom.  

Of course, many people are suffering great feelings of loss, but a mother’s grief is unique. 

I know this pain first hand, as I, too, lost a son as a young adult. Each time I see stories like the Piercys’, it all comes back. 

It looks like Carol is well supported by friends and family… All that helps more than you can imagine. Every card, every hug, every call and flower, each donation is remembered and treasured forever. I recently went through my beribboned box of cards, reading every one and appreciating again those prayers. I keep them in Scott’s childhood toybox.

One of the haunting feelings around a lost child is the understanding of what the purpose of your child’s life has been. In the case of Brian,  we wonder if the wars are worth such awful pain at home. The answer  came to me quite dramatically and visually.  Next to The Bee carrying the story of Brian’s funeral, was my  copy of Time magazine. If you haven’t seen the cover yet, brace yourself.  It’s a photo of a woman tortured and mutilated in Afghanistan for trying to leave an abusive family. Her nose is gone.  See it for yourself, here, and see what Brian and his colleagues have been fighting for. Ironically, our efforts in Afghanistan have partially been to release the chokehold the Taliban and Al Qaida have on mothers in Afghanistan. These are women suffering unspeakable conditions, suffering so tragically, just as America’s military mothers suffer now.  

May God bless the Piercy family, our  leaders’ wisdom and Brian’s brothers and sisters on the battlefield.  May they find the way to ease the suffering of mothers here and everywhere.