Elaine Leusink can't forget every detail that happened on May 22, 2006 no matter how hard she tries.

"Our family lives with this loss every single day," she told a gym full of students, veterans and other guests during a community Veterans Day program at Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn. "There's a constant hole in my heart, and days like today are hard."

Leusink, of Sioux Center, holds many titles, the most profound of which is Gold Star Mother. She lost her son, Lance Cpl. William J. (BJ) Leusink, during an insurgent attack in Iraq 15 years ago, and the pain of her son's sacrifice still lingers in her heart each day she wakes up.

BJ felt the urge to serve his country following the 9/11 terrorist attacks, eventually enlisting in the Marines shortly after graduating from Sioux Center High School in 2003. He took to the military without missing a step and earned a promotion directly out of boot camp.

BJ served one tour in Afghanistan and was later deployed to Iraq. He was serving as his battalion's radio operator on a patrol that fateful day in 2006 when he was hit by an improvised explosive device and died from his wounds.

Leusink recalled with sorrow coming home to a pair of U.S. Marines standing in her kitchen informing her that BJ wasn't coming home alive.

"Similar to the feeling that the world had stopped back on Sept. 11, 2001, my world was again stopped on May 22, 2006," she said.

Being a Gold Star mother isn't something Leusink would wish on anyone, but she was proud of her son's service. She would do anything to change the outcome of his deployment, however, she would never change who her son was.

"He believed in what he was doing and why he was doing it," Leusink said. "He made a difference in many lives, including his buddies that he left behind. How could I ask that that be changed?"

NICK PEDLEY/SENTINEL-NEWS

Orville Taylor, one of the last WWII veterans around, salutes the crowd.

Leusink encouraged those in attendance to impact others in a positive way each day and find their purpose in life.

"What I'm telling you is that no matter what you choose to do with your life, make a difference...you have power to make a difference," she said. "Decide what kind of an impact you want to be on your school, on your classmates and on the world. The choice is yours."