Never, Never Give Up
18 April 2013 at 14:57
written by Cady Spraul, Wes’ sister
In Memory of
HM1 John “Wes” Spraul, USN, 10/4/85-2/28/13
NEVER FORGOTTEN.
Wes was the strongest person I’ve even known. Even when I was little, he was always the brother that I looked up to the most and wanted to be like. Of course that means he was always the one who gave me the hardest time, too, but deep down I loved it. Wes enjoyed life to the fullest. He always had that huge smile on his face. He was always friendly to people who weren’t always easy to be friendly too. He was always looking out for those he loved, even more so than his own self it seemed. That seems pretty obvious, because in the NAVY he did two tours in the Middle East even when he had his beautiful family back here in the states, and it was always his life goal to become a NAVY seal. He’d always wanted to serve his country whole heartedly. He challenged me constantly to strive to make myself better. He taught me by example not to judge people before you know anything about them. I knew that he was always there for me no matter what I needed, even if it was just a kick in the butt to stop being so lazy! He always has been, and forever will continue to be my hero.
Every day I miss him, but it is now my goal to honor him by striving to do all of those things he taught me. Every day I want to strive to make myself better. Every day I want to be friendly to everyone, not just those who make it easy to be friendly to. Every day I want to make sure that those I love know how much I care for them and would do anything for them. I want to enjoy every day of my life, because I am so blessed. I think it is important that this is how we remember Wes. We can honor him for everything he brought into our lives. Someone had given Wes a necklace that said, “Never Never Give Up.” I will always treasure these words as a sort of motto from his life.
To everyone that has reached out to our family in the last few weeks, THANK YOU! I’m not sure how we could have made it through without all of the support. Please continue to keep us in your prayers as we try to heal and strive to preserve and honor the memory of Wes throughout our lives.
Final Rest: Arlington National Cemetery