My name is Michael David Wikoff. I’ve lived in Lawrence County all of my life (31 and a half years).

When I read the article on the long awaited news of the death of the most hated and vile human being on the planet, to be honest, I cried a little.

Some were tears of anger, because of all of the hardworking Americans and visitors to New York the day those two 747s dive-bombed the World Trade Center towers.

Also there were tears of joy for the final vindication and payback for the horrible deaths of heart and soul of our nation by Bin Laden.

Still, to this very day, I can remember turning on the television after the first plane crashed, then as we all watched the smoke and debris fall down on the unsuspecting people below.

In horror we were stunned to watch a second plane take a chunk of the other tower. Oh, what pain and agony I felt along with those who perished because I already knew their fate, uncontrollable and unwilling it to register.

And it still hurts just as much today.

Thank God we could finally show the “evil face of terrorism” that the United States of America can and will survive and conquer through the stormiest of weather and the roughest path to go to where we can be victorious in all we know and love. Thank God for freedom!

Even though I am currently incarcerated, I am still a loyal citizen of Ironton and the Kitts Hill area, but coming home around Memorial Day.

So, of course you know I’m excited to be with family and friends and watch the beloved Memorial Day Parade, which I believe is the nation’s longest-running parade.

Amen to that.

My grandfather, Daniel James Wikoff, Sr., who is now deceased, was in World War II, the Korean Conflict, in the Navy as a communications soldier. My dad, Daniel James Wikoff, Jr., was also in the Army in the early to mid 60s, along with his brother, Jeffery Wikoff, who is a few years younger than my dad, was a hard-nosed Marine who fought successfully in the Vietnam War.

Unfortunately, due to complications at my birth with my twin sister, I had open-heart surgery and was unable to carry on this fine legacy.

And God Bless America. Hope your Memorial Day weekend and activities were safe and that you were kind to others.

We deserve that much to respect all of the fallen and current soldiers still defending what we will always believe in.

Michael David Wikoff

Kitts Hill