Los Gatos sisters remember little brother who gave the ultimate sacrifice
LOS GATOS -- While many mark Memorial Day with barbecues and trips to the beach, Gold Star families who lost loved ones to war don't want people to forget the holiday's true meaning.
Two sisters of a fallen solider from Los Gatos spent Monday thinking long and hard about their lost little brother.
The man wearing a million dollar smile along with fatigues in a family photo is Army Corporal TJ Gonzales.
The youngest of four children and only boy, TJ was the only son of a military veteran and now retired Los Gatos police officer. He wanted to be just like his dad.
"Dad trained him to be a gentleman. So, when dad wasn't at home, he opened doors, always checked the doors to make sure they were locked," said his older sister Tammy Runzel.
TJ enlisted in the Army. He was killed in action on December 28th, 2008 in Sadr City, Iraq.
Runzel can still remember every detail of the call from her Dad, the moment that changed her family forever.
"I can still hear his voice in my head and he sounded like a little kid because he was just crying. I remember driving home and we were about two hours away…and the longest two hours," she told KPIX 5.
Like so many families, TJ's family celebrates Memorial Day with family gatherings, but also centers the day on those who gave the ultimate sacrifice, like their younger brother.
"When you wake up in the morning and the meaning that it holds now to us that it really is in remembrance of the men and women who gave their life, and TJ for that matter," said older sister Megan People. "You wake up thinking about that, knowing that's the importance of it, versus the family and the barbecues and the mattress buying."
They are not looking for pity. They are asking for honor for men and women like TJ who were daughters and sons, brothers and sisters, aunts and uncles and friends.
Megan and Tammy, their sister Shaula and Mom and Dad remember him every single day, telling the tales of Uncle TJ to their kids and assuring his memory lives on.
"He was always very patriotic and very proud. I just appreciate that my brother was someone who wanted to serve his country. He's not here, but I am proud of him," Runzel said.