Mothers of fallen soldiers honored in Ronan
Megan Strickland
Karla Colclough is supported by son Jason Colclough, as she tells of her son Jacob, who was killed while on active duty for the National Guard.
Megan Strickland
Retired Navy Seals Commander Ryan Zinke speaks about soldiers who paid the ultimate price for freedom.
Megan Strickland
A battle cross and flags adorn the Gold Star Mothers Memorial in Bockman Park.
Megan Strickland
Megan Strickland
Megan Strickland
Megan Strickland
Megan Strickland
Megan Strickland
Megan Strickland
Megan Strickland
Megan Strickland
Hey savvy news reader! Thanks for choosing local.
You are now reading
1 of 3 free articles.
America remembers them as heroes, as brave and strong grown men and women who paid the ultimate sacrifice for their country. But the mothers of servicemen and women lose more than a warrior when their children are killed in the line of duty. They lose their babies.
“He was a very cautious child. He loved watching NASCAR but did not want to be a driver because they crash,” Gold Star Mother Karla Colclough of Libby recalled of her son Jacob as a youngster at Gold Star Mother’s Day, held in Ronan on Sunday. The event honors the mothers of fallen soldiers. “He loved bunnies, but did not want a rabbit because they could scratch him. He did not like activities that could cause discomfort, the least amount of pain or had any risk or danger involved whatsoever."
When Jacob was 5 years old he had to visit the doctor, who told him to be a brave warrior while completing a procedure.
“Jacob firmly told him: ‘I am not a warrior, I am a whimp,’” Karla said.
Jacob grew out of his “whimp” stage and at age 17 enlisted in the National Guard. His strategy was to keep his head down through basic training, but his superiors realized the teen performed well and began to put Jacob into a leadership role.
“It was the hardest and most stressful time of his life,” Karla said. “It was also the best time.”
Jacob decided he wanted to make a career out of his National Guard service, and was weighing his options in March 2010 when he crashed his car into an oncoming vehicle while on the way back from a training event. Officers believe Jacob fell asleep at the wheel. He and three others were killed in the crash.
The high school senior was a couple months shy of graduating, and just weeks away from prom.
Karla said it is difficult for her to cope with her son’s death, but she has taken some solace in comments she has gotten from people about how kind and helpful her son was.
She said after the accident a young man saw her Gold Star Mother’s license plate and asked “Who gave you your star?” She was taken aback, and explained what the star meant. She was surprised to find out that the young man asking her the question had been inspired to join the National Guard by her son. Jacob had stood up for the soldier when he was a freshman in high school.
Four years after the loss of Jacob, Karla said she gets through the grief “with baby steps.”
The grieving process is familiar to other Gold Star Mothers who spoke at the event.
“We are strong and we are together and we do hold each other up in whatever way we can,” Gold Star Mother Mary Dugan of Helena said.
Many of the Montana mothers make the yearly trip to Ronan on Sept. 28, the presidentially-recognized Gold Star Mother’s Day. The monument in Bockman Park that honors the mothers is one of only a handful in the United States.
Unfortunately, the ranks of Gold Star Mothers are expected to increase as a war on terrorism intensifies, according to guest speaker and retired U.S. Navy Seals Commander Ryan Zinke.
“I do not believe ISIS can be stopped by air power alone,” he said, “and we will once again ask our nation’s finest, once again, to fight them.”
