SEATTLE — KIRO 7 visited a war memorial that is often forgotten in this bustling city: The Garden of Remembrance at Seattle's Benaroya Hall.
This is the latest name inscribed on the wall of honor.
Tacoma's Matthew McClintock's was killed Jan. 5 in Afghanistan.
And just above McClintock's name -- Mathew Fazzari from Walla Walla.
Fazzari was shot down in Afghanistan 4 years ago, when he used his lightly armored helicopter to defend allies from attack.
Dan Mock is his uncle. “The first time I saw his name on the wall it was sobering. Because you realize there is a permanence there,” he said.
Mock works nearby and visits often.
“The wall is big. But when I come by here, I come by frequently, I look at one spot,” he said.
When Fran Carson comes to the wall there is one spot she focuses on.
“My son is here, Sean Carson,” she said.
Sean Carson was a Navy explosive ordinance disposal technician from Des Moines.
He was killed in Afghanistan when his helicopter was shot down.
Carson was laid to rest at the military cemetery in Hawaii.
So this is where his mother finds comfort.
“You'll find me here quite often,” Fran Carson told us. On his birthday and different important holidays, this is where I come to sit and have a conversation with him and remember.”
President Barack Obama noted today that only 1 percent of our country's population is serving in the military.
Still, Carson says it was right for her son.
“No, I don't regret it. I regret that this happened definitely, I miss him beyond words.”