Mom Visits Army Son’s Grave Daily to Beg for Forgiveness, Sees Boy Crying There on Veterans Day — Story of the Day

A grieving mom visits his late military son's grave on Veterans Day to pay tribute, only to see a crying boy there, hugging his tombstone. "Who could that be?" she wondered.

"You can't be serious, Harvey! I will never accept that girl to be a part of our family," Vivienne yelled at her son after finding out he was living together with his girlfriend.

"Why not, mom? I'm 22 years old, and I'm free to do whatever I want!" Harvey shot back.

"You're a 22-year-old SINGLE man. You're only supposed to live with a woman after you're married. She is unvirtuous for even allowing herself to live with you. Is she desperate?" Vivienne continued to say, nagging her son about his decision to move in with the girl.

"Mom, you boast about your faith, yet here you are being so judgemental about a person you haven't even bothered to meet and get to know. If you're just going to keep nagging about this, I'm going to leave this instant," Harvey answered back, packing the last of his things from his room.

"How dare you, Harvey! Is she teaching you to be disrespectful to your mom? You're supposed to honor your mother and father, as the Bible says. That's what you get for being with a faithless woman!" Vivienne cried. "If you leave my house today, never come back! Let's see how long you can survive that way."

Harvey couldn't believe what his mother was saying, and he didn't hesitate to leave. "Fine," he muttered. "I'll prove to you that Marissa and I can live on our own."

Since that day, Harvey never met up with his mom – not even on holidays. It was only when he enlisted in the military that he decided to send his mother one last letter, informing her that he would be deployed overseas as part of his duty.

Before he could make the trip, Vivienne gave him a call. Harvey hoped it would be the phone call where they finally made amends, with Vivienne apologizing to him for everything she said.

Unfortunately for him, the call left him disappointed. "Harvey, what is this letter I just received?" his mom asked. "First, you move in with a woman who is up to no good. Now, you're enlisting in the military? Killing people is a sin! Are you God?" she started to nag.

Harvey shook his head, somewhat blaming himself for having an inch of faith that his mother would change. "You know what, mom, this could be the last phone call we'll ever get to have. And yet, here you are, still nagging me about things," he started.

He hesitated for a moment before unleashing his anger further, but he couldn't stop himself. "For someone who claims to be faithful, you sure are one to judge. You're not God, either. Only God can judge me. You need to get off your high horse. No wonder dad left you."

At that moment, he knew there was no turning back. He had officially burned the bridge between him and his mom, and there was no coming back from that.

Vivienne cried herself to sleep that night, knowing she had lost her son. Little did she know, that was only the beginning of her heartbreak.

Just a year later, Vivienne received another letter in the mail, this time inviting her to a state funeral. Her knees gave in, and she collapsed in shock upon reading that the funeral was meant for Harvey, who was killed in battle.

On Veterans Day, she was surprised to see someone else visiting her son's grave. "Who could that be?" she wondered.

Vivienne's guilt wouldn't let her go to the funeral. Instead, she secluded herself from everybody and stayed indoors for weeks, crying her heart out.

"I'm sorry, son," she cried. "I was such a heartless witch," she said to no one in particular.

It was in her weeks of seclusion that Vivian realized how hypocritical she was as a Christian. She loved her child dearly, but she pushed him away from her because of how judgmental she was towards him.

Finally, after a couple of weeks, she mustered the strength to visit her son's grave. She opened the letter she had previously received in the mail once again and hailed a cab to go to the cemetery.

Since then, she would visit her son's grave every week to bring flowers. Then she'd say a short prayer, asking her son for forgiveness. She continued with this routine until one day, on Veterans Day, she was surprised to see someone else visiting her son's grave. "Who could that be?" she wondered.

As she walked closer, Vivienne could see a little boy of about five years crying and hugging Harvey's tombstone. Shocked, she decided to approach the young boy to ask who he was.

"This is my dad's grave," the boy said as he sniffled. "I miss him so much!" he cried.

Vivienne's jaw dropped upon hearing the boy speak. She never knew Harvey had a son. She realized she had missed out on seeing the young boy grow, all because of her arrogance.

Vivienne decided to meet with Marissa so she could apologize to her and get to know her grandson. She realized that caring for her grandchild was the only chance she had to somehow reconnect with Harvey.

After waiting for a couple of minutes, Vivienne saw Marissa approaching the tombstone to pick the little boy up. "Hello, Marissa," she greeted.

Marissa knew who she was and didn't hesitate to embrace her. "Hi, Vivienne," she greeted.

When they broke away from the hug, the first thing Vivienne did was apologize. She claimed it was her flawed idea of faith that drew her to make those rash decisions back then.

"I'm sorry, Marissa. I let my blind faith ruin my relationship with my son. In turn, I never got to know you or my grandson. I would like to change that," she told her.

Marissa smiled softly as she knew that Harvey was looking down on them happily. "This was all Harvey ever wanted, ma'am," she told Vivienne. "He had always hoped you would unite with our family and get to know our little boy. This is Steven," Marissa said, introducing her son.

"Hello, Steven," Vivienne said with tears in her eyes. "You look a lot like your dad." She slowly approached the young boy to embrace him.

The boy nodded, replying, "Hi, grandma."

Upon hearing the word "grandma," Vivienne couldn't help but sob. She embraced Steven tighter and regretted the five years she didn't spend with Harvey, Marissa, and her grandson.

"Oh, sweetheart. I love you. Grandma will make it up to you," she promised. "I'm sorry it took me this long to meet you."

Vivienne prayed to Harvey that day, letting him know he didn't need to worry about his family any longer, as she would take care of them. Marissa and Vivienne ended up becoming close, and they spent a lot of time together in honor of Harvey's memory.

What can we learn from this story?

• It's never too late for new beginnings. Vivienne was regretful of how she spent the last five years of Harvey's life, only to realize it wasn't too late for a new beginning. She ended up getting close to Harvey's widow and her grandson Steve, and they became a family.
• Just because you don't share the same views as others, does not make them wrong. Vivienne didn't respect Harvey's decisions because she believed they went against her faith, only to realize that she was being hypocritical.

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If you enjoyed this story, you might like this one about a girl who would run away from her stepmother daily to visit her military dad's grave, only to find a note from him there.

This piece is inspired by stories from the everyday lives of our readers and written by a professional writer. Any resemblance to actual names or locations is purely coincidental. All images are for illustration purposes only. Share your story with us; maybe it will change someone's life. If you would like to share your story, please send it to info@amomama.com.