BROWNFIELD, Texas – Gold Star mother Audrey Morin mourns and honors the memory of her son Army Sergeant Steve Morin Jr.
Steve was raised in Brownfield, Texas. After graduating from high school, he enrolled in the Navy where he served 14 years. He later went on to serve in the National Guard after September 11.
His mother said while he was scheduled to go to Officers Candidate School, he was deployed to Iraq. She said one of the most important things to her son was looking out for the well being of his soldiers.
“He had great leadership skills,” she said, “While he was in Iraq, the most important thing to him was a safety of his men.”
Audrey said Steve was driving a Humvee in September of 2005 with two other soldiers in Iraq when an explosive device on the road detonated and killed her son and another soldier. Steve Morin was only 34-years-old when he lost his life.
He left behind a wife and two children.
Audrey said it’s difficult being a Gold Star mother because the pain of losing her son lingers every day.
“You put on that face in front of people because people think that you probably got over it because it’s been so long but I will never get over it,” she said.
She said she sees every day as an opportunity to honor her son and other heroes that have served and that she’s grateful for other Gold Start families who are able to relate on the painful loss of loved ones.
“It’s very hard to walk around with a happy face when your heart has been broken and I find a lot of comfort in my other Gold Star families because we see each other and we smile and we hug, but — we all know that we are still hurting,” she said.
Steve was also a graduate of Texas Tech University where he majored in Business and Finance.