The book Sacrifice, the Final Chapter, was officially presented on October 19th, 2024, in Rocky Hill, Connecticut in the presence of, among others, Senator Richard Blumenthal, Congressman Jimmy Panetta, U.S. General Welsh and two hundred other guests, including dozens of Gold Star Families – the American families who have lost a loved one on the battlefields of Iraq, Syria or Afghanistan. 
The special guests at the ceremony included the relatives of the fallen servicemen whose lives are described in ‘Sacrifice’, as well as most of the individuals featuring in the other two books in this trilogy: “Who will have my back” and “Out of the shadows”.
It was a very dignified, introspective but at the same time a very emotional ceremony that was greatly appreciated by all present.
In his speech, Senator Blumenthal especially thanked the efforts of HSH Leopold of Arenberg for the benefit of American veterans and their families.
Colonel Roger Housen, in turn, pointed out the special ties between the U.S. and Belgium and thanked the veterans and their families present, the American servicemen on active duty and all their predecessors for their efforts and sacrifices to ensure the security of our country, both past and present. His speech can also be found here.
The author of “Sacrifice,” Ron Farina, recited some very moving passages from the book, which were especially meaningful to the family members present.
The event was reported in the local media.

Ladies & Gentlemen, Dear Senator, Dear Congressman,

This book, Sacrifice, The Final Chapter and the two before it, Who Will Have My Back and Out of the Shadows, Voices of American Women Soldiers, supported by HSH, Duke Leopold d’Arenberg, Duke of Belgium, is an expression of gratitude, a thank you to America, the American Soldier, American Veterans, and American families. The book is also part of a lifelong thank you to America and a special thank you to America’s Gold Star Families.

My personal involvement in the creation of ‘Sacrifice, the Final Chapter’, coordinating the efforts that brought the stories of bravery, courage, sorrow and sacrifice to the page has been a privilege, an honor.

As a boy, I listened to my grandparents tell incredible stories about the Second World War. They never tired of the telling and I never tired of the tales, all true. They talked of how their region in Belgium was liberated by American and British soldiers. How that put an end to their constant hunger and latent fear. How, after four long years of uncertainty, their lives finally regained hope and perspective. How American service members not only brought with them food and freedom, but also new styles of music, canned beef, fruit drinks and chewing gum. And how the Marshall plan helped Belgium get back on its feet economically.

Motivated by the stories I heard, even as a boy, I decided I would take up the gun, become a soldier. My decision was born out of respect and gratitude for the American service members who came to liberate us, and from the awareness that sometimes, only a gun stands between good and evil. A gun. Not to shoot. Not to kill. Not to destroy. But to stop those who would do evil. 

Hidden within the stories told to me by my grandparents, past the bravery and courage of the American soldier, was the American soldiers’ passion to protect the vulnerable, to defend democratic values, to stand up for the freedoms we have, and will fight to protect, to live free and to help others do the same. 

Duke Leopold and I often ask ourselves, “Where does the US get such exceptional men and women, willing to sacrifice everything—even their lives. Where do those qualities of the good and noble arise in America to produce such an embodiment of our most precious qualities of sacrifice, loyalty, bravery and patriotism?” 

We think that it is at the dinner tables, church pews, classrooms and firesides of middle-America that those latent qualities—your qualities—are forged. It is the distillation of those qualities in the cauldron of war which makes America so different from the rest of us, so much the best part of us. We are shamed by your sacrifice, by your fierce loyalties, by your stoic acceptance of unimaginable hardship.

So, you serve, and endure, and persevere and suffer—nameless and invisible to the wider world whose safety is your constant gift. Indifferent to public praise and private fortune, you carry the banner of civilization to foreign shores, and there, on some wind-swept, boulder-strewn parapet on the edge of chaos and barbarism, you plant that banner. Standing there, you turn and call to us in words that echo down through the ages— “Sleep soundly,” you say. “Sleep soundly because no one will hurt you tonight.”

We in Belgium know how lucky we are to sleep beneath the blanket of freedom and security America’s brave men and women in the military provide, and we are grateful every day that you have the fortitude and dedication to give so much to make that happen.

American mothers, fathers, husbands, wives, sisters, brothers, you have given up a loved one for your country, and to help others who cannot help themselves, for a way of life that is free and without fear. That is something that cannot be repaid. What makes you all so great is that you give so much and do not expect anything in return. 

Unthinkable tragedy has struck the families chronicled in this book. A cherished son or daughter, husband or wife, sister or brother has been lost. But life goes on, different now without that lost loved one. For some the grief is decades old, for others, it is fresh. At the time of this writing, not even two years had passed since the final days of America’s departure from Afghanistan. Eleven marines, a soldier and a sailor were killed on August 26, 2021. 

Sacrifice, the Final Chapter is a reminder for some, a new awareness to others, of the sacrifice families of soldiers must be prepared to make and do. It is a look into the everyday world lived in by the families of American military men and women. Families living their everyday with the knowledge that a loved one is in harm’s way. Families dreading a knock on their door, or a phone call, that means the end. 

Once more, I’m honored to have played a part in bringing this book to the reading public. I know grief and tears will come, memories of your loved one will ebb and flow, but you carry on. Thank you for your bravery, your strength in the face of the ultimate loss, the gift of your soldier to the world.

Thank you, American family. Thank you on behalf of all Belgians.
Roger Housen,
Colonel (retd.) Belgian Army