Serenading a Soldier farewell

This is not my memory but one of which I am the custodian. As SGT Michael C. Hardegree welcomed his first niece, Lilly, he soon found a new comfort in the MCIS track of the same name. As he fell asleep in Baghdad, MCIS would serenade him. When he closed his eyes for the last time on September 10, 2007, in his final weeks in theater, MCIS was found in his uniform with MCIS on shuffle. To this day, Lily is such an important piece of my grief journey as it, too, serenades me through a personal and fragile connection to my brother.