'That's Aaron's redbud': Father remembers son with tree planted in his honor

+ Accessibility links Skip to main content Keyboard shortcuts for audio player Open Navigation Menu --> Newsletters NPR Shop Close Navigation Menu Home News Expand/collapse submenu for News National World Politics Business Health Science Climate Race Culture Expand/collapse submenu for Culture Books Movies Television Pop Culture Food Art & Design Performing Arts Life Kit Gaming Music Expand/collapse submenu for Music Tiny Desk New Music Friday All Songs Considered Music Features Live Sessions Podcasts & Shows Expand/collapse submenu for Podcasts & Shows Daily Morning Edition Weekend Edition Saturday Weekend Edition Sunday All Things Considered Up First Here & Now NPR Politics Podcast Featured Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me! Fresh Air Wild Card with Rachel Martin It's Been a Minute Planet Money Get NPR+ More Podcasts & Shows Search Newsletters NPR Shop Tiny Desk New Music Friday All Songs Considered Music Features Live Sessions About NPR Diversity Support Careers Press Ethics 'That’s Aaron’s redbud': Father remembers son with tree planted in his honor A father talks about the tree in his front yard that honors the memory of his son who was killed in Afghanistan.

+ LEARN MORE --> 'That's Aaron's redbud': Father remembers son with tree planted in his honor May 22, 20264:42 AM ET Heard on Morning Edition By Von Diaz 'That’s Aaron’s redbud': Father remembers son with tree planted in his honor Listen &middot; 3:13 3:13 Transcript Toggle more options Download Embed Embed "> <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/nx-s1-5829842/nx-s1-9781317" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript A father talks about the tree in his front yard that honors the memory of his son who was killed in Afghanistan. Sponsor Message (SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC) STEVE INSKEEP, HOST: As we head into Memorial Day weekend, we hear from StoryCorps' Military Voices Initiative. At the Fort Stewart Army base in Hinesville, Georgia, there is a memorial called Warriors Walk. It honors fallen soldiers attached to the 3rd Infantry Division. Sergeant Aaron Xavier Wittman is one of them. At StoryCorps, Wittman's father, Duane, recalled a moment just before Aaron deployed to Afghanistan.

+ DUANE WITTMAN: We were down visiting him at Fort Stewart, spending the whole weekend with him. And he said, you know what that is over there, Dad? That's Warrior Walk. There's a redbud tree over there for every soldier that's ever been attached to the Fort Stewart units that were killed in action. And so I said, well, you want to take me over and look at it? He said, hell, no. I don't want to ever have a tree over there. I said, well, hopefully that'll never happen.

+ But he was killed in Afghanistan on 10 January, 2013. And I think he's Tree 445. It took me about a year before I finally accepted. And I spent a lot of time by myself, which wasn't that good. Sometimes I'd be, like, talking, just like we're talking now. And I would just stand up and scream. One year later, they decided to change the whole Warrior Walk. And there's no redbuds there anymore. It's all white crape myrtles. It's beautiful. And so they gave away the redbuds. I called his soldiers and just said, look, I want that tree. So you save it and I will be down there in a couple of days. And I'll get it. And so I did. And I wrapped it up in sheets to protect it. Then I brought that tree home. And that redbud is in my front yard. And then the redbud started dropping little seed pockets. So I started collecting them up, and then I would put them in buckets, and then I would nurse them along. And then people would come by, and they'd say, oh, the redbud. And I'd say, you want one? Here it is. That's Aaron's redbud. Aaron had a heart of gold. He would fight for his friends, not for himself. And he was that way all his life. So when I see the tree, every day, I think of Aaron. It's beautiful. You know, we have five grandchildren. And I thought we probably would've had another two or three. And I feel guilty for every serviceman or woman who never gets a chance to fulfill their dreams. You know, I realize it's a choice they made and it's a chance they took. We accept it. But at the same time, I feel guilty for all of them. (SOUNDBITE OF CHRIS ZABRISKIE'S "JOHN STOCKTON SLOW DRAG") INSKEEP: Retired Army Major Duane Wittman recalling his son, Aaron. His StoryCorps interview is archived at the Library of Congress. (SOUNDBITE OF CHRIS ZABRISKIE'S "JOHN STOCKTON SLOW DRAG") Copyright &copy; 2026 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information. Accuracy and availability of NPR transcripts may vary. Transcript text may be revised to correct errors or match updates to audio. Audio on npr.org may be edited after its original broadcast or publication. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record. Facebook Flipboard Email Read & Listen Home News Culture Music Podcasts & Shows Connect Newsletters Facebook Instagram Press Public Editor Corrections Transcripts Contact & Help About NPR Overview Diversity NPR Network Accessibility Ethics Finances Get Involved Support Public Radio Sponsor NPR NPR Careers NPR Shop NPR Extra Terms of Use Privacy Your Privacy Choices Text Only Sponsor Message Sponsor Message Become an NPR sponsor (function () { var loadPageJs = function () { (window.webpackJsonp=window.webpackJsonp||[]).push([[22],{1169:function(e,n,c){e.exports=c(321)},321:function(e,n,c){"use strict";c.p=NPR.serverVars.webpackPublicPath,Promise.all([c.e(1),c.e(2),c.e(3),c.e(4),c.e(82)]).then(function(e){c(3),c(1141),c(116),c(95),c(52),c(491),c(240),c(102),c(104),c(1142),c(144),c(1143),c(239),c(48),c(1144)}.bind(null,c)).catch(c.oe)}},[[1169,0]]]); }; if (document.readyState === 'complete') { loadPageJs(); } else { window.addEventListener('load', function load() { window.removeEventListener('load', load, false); loadPageJs(); }); } })();