Losing a child is one of the most terrible things that no parent should, yet many have to, go through.
May it be war, a disease, or an accident, death is something that no one welcomes, especially when the victim is young.
For William Jazwinski, what seemed like another ordinary day, changed entirely as he noticed a police car with flashing lights in the rearview mirror. He immediately pulled over and was surprised, as he didn’t do anything wrong.
William Jazwinski / Facebook
The policeman then walked up to his car and William had no choice but to roll down his window. At that point, he was still wondering if he was by any chance driving too fast. As it turned out, he hadn’t. The reason why the officer pulled him over was to thank him for his military service. That’s when William realized what’s going on because he remembered that he had an army bumper sticker on the back of his car.
William Jazwinski / Facebook
The two of them then started a conversation, and the policeman asked the young man where he served. William told him that he spent 15 months in Iraq. This revelation led to the officer beginning to open up. As he explained to William, his son was also serving in Iraq but never made it back home.
William Jazwinski / Facebook
Emotions Surface
The young man was touched by his story and emotions got the better of him. Then the police officer noticed something else. There was an American flag, identical to the one he received after his son’s death, displayed on the dashboard of William’s car.
William Jazwinski / Facebook
This caused the officer to break down and ask William for a hug. “You remind me of my son. I pulled you over. I thought you were him. I still don’t believe it most days he’s gone,” he said. William immediately got out of the car and hugged the policeman. That’s when they both fully let go and began crying.
William Jazwinski / Facebook
As fate would have it, William was just on his way from the post-traumatic stress syndrome rehabilitation program, so hug was something that he needed as well.
After the event, William posted the whole story on Facebook. Since then, it was shared nearly 180,000 times and received over 200,000 likes.
If you were moved by this touching story as well, don’t forget to share it. You can also visit William’s Facebook page to access his original post and see people’s responses.