A Tribute to

Kevin Nathaniel Colbert, 25

employee of Keefe, Bruyette, & Woods

89th Floor, World Trade Center, South Tower

In reading about Kevin to prepare for this tribute, I was struck by the dichotomy of his life. On one side, he was a fun-loving, young single guy who enjoyed partying and playing hard. He even named his dog after his favorite beer, Corona. His tribute website, www.kevincolbert.us, is full of recollections of fun and crazy moments in his young life, from his mother, friends, brothers, and other family members.

His other side was more serious:  a man who worked hard to support his mother and younger brothers. According to his mother, Susan Carrol, "He gave up his personal life when things got too hard for me raising his brothers on my own. He took us in put a roof over our heads and did everything a husband and father would, except he was my son."

His mother spoke to Larry King about Kevin a few years ago:  "He was a huge person physically, mentally, emotionally. He was a huge person. I would have to say the only thing larger than his physical presence was his smile. He had this incredible smile as you can see. I don't have one picture of him where he is not grinning from ear to ear."

His girlfriend, Stephanie Erdel, a talented artist, has come to grips with her grief and trauma by writing an inspirational collection of songs, which was published last year as the CD "Running from Fear." The CD was featured on Entertainment Tonight, and is designed to inspire and encourage those struggling with grief. You can read her story and listen to samples of her music on her website, www.runningfromfear.com.

My husband, Jim, is a Naval Special Warfare operator. I hope that it gives Kevin's family and friends some satisfaction that Jim and many others are sacrificing daily to track down and stop the enemy, wherever they are. Kevin, and all the other 2,995 victims on September 11th are being avenged every day.

All 2,996 victims of September 11th are being honored by bloggers around the world.  You can read about this wonderful tribute on the website, http://www.dcroe.com/2996/.

We will never forget.

UPDATE: The 2,996 Project blog site went down. For a complete list of the victims and the tributes, please see the following site:  http://www.madmommajen.com/.