A talented athlete, Christopher Moon was an active kid riding a BMX bike.

Christopher was an artist and an excellent student. By all reports, he was a bright light and a natural leader. One thing about him is that he always wanted to be a soldier.

Christopher graduated from Tucson High School and spent one semester at UA. After that he enlisted in the army. He served in the Army’s 82nd Airborne Division and was a sniper with the 2508th Parachute Regiment.

His mother, Marsha Moon, knew he was enlisting. She also knew that she would not be able to bear her son for long. It wasn’t easy to admit, but it was always there.

“I don’t know if a mother has this kind of connection with her children, but[but]I always had this feeling, even when he was a child and growing up, And I didn’t like it, but I had a feeling,” she said. she said. “Why do I feel like I can’t be with him that long? It was something I didn’t want to think about. Well, you’re worried about the kids, but for some reason, He worries more than anything.”

she was right She didn’t stay with him long. He was sent to Afghanistan, where he was shot every day. The enemy knew he was a sniper.

On July 5, 2010, just days before he turned 20, Christopher was seriously injured. According to the Army, he stepped on a remote-detonating IED and it exploded beneath him. He fought for a week, but Christopher died on July 13, 2010 and Marsha’s family (her husband, Brian, sister, Sunday Lewis, and niece Semira Moon) became the Gold Star family. .

At the corner of South Richie Boulevard and South Palo Verde Road is the Veterans Gold Star Family Park, where the Tucson Gold Star family memorial is dedicated in the bright sun on May 30. was done. Marsha served on the commission responsible for the completion of the park and the black granite monument.

“A Gold Star family is a family that has lost a son, daughter, spouse, sister, uncle or aunt in war or from injuries sustained in war,” he said with Dave Faulkner. Barbara Brownlee said. She is an honorary director of the Gold Star Family Memorial and co-chair of the seven-member committee that brought the memorial to Tucson.

At least one committee member must belong to the Gold Star family. Masha took over the duties of this committee.

The park promises to be a meaningful place not only for Tucson residents, but also for their dedicated families.

“(This is) a place where our Gold Star family can host an event and a place to visit if you want a solemn place to remember your loved ones,” said Masha, who publicly accepted the memorial. “We can’t hug our loved ones, but we can come together to hug, cry, laugh and share stories.”

The memorial and park were made possible with the help of the Pima County Board of Supervisors and the Woody Williams Foundation of Louisville, Kentucky, whose mission is to build a Gold Star memorial every 50 miles, Brownlee said. was. Pima County provided the park and his $125,000 grant.

“[In Pima County]there was a two-phase project going on there,” Brownlee said. “They finished the first phase, but they ran out of funds for the second phase. they give us the gold so they gave us the land and did the basic concrete work with all the vendors we came with the monument and put it on their property By the way.”

Other donations came from private individuals and several Tucson businesses.

Vietnam veteran Robert Ortiz attended the dedication ceremony in memory of his brother Antonio Ortiz, a former U.S. Navy lieutenant helicopter pilot. He was shot down over southern Vietnam.

Antonio Ortiz grew up in Douglas. According to Robert, his brother worked very hard and became a pilot because of it.

“He studied hard to reach his goal, but unfortunately it all came to an end on December 19, 1970,” said Robert. “But he had big dreams in his heart and he achieved them.

The unveiling ceremony included a flyover by the Arizona Air National Guard, a color presentation by the Davis-Monthan Air Force Base honor guard, and a performance of “Taps” by Dan Pinda of Buggles Across America.

The Gold Star family hopes local residents will take advantage of the park and its memorial.

“Our community has banded together to donate and build memorials for the Gold Star families. Our country has not forgotten them,” Brownlee said.

“We hope you will spend some time here and bring others and families to share what the Gold Star family is all about and honor the heroes who died,” said Masha.

“It’s worth taking the time to come see[the monument]and see and think about it. It can speak to you,” said Robert.