Cpl. Travis Bradach-Nall

Five years ago today, Marine Cpl. Travis Bradach-Nall was killed in Karbala during a mine-clearing operation. The 21 year-old volunteered to extend his in-country assignment when he recognized how much work was left to be done clearing up after the invasion.

His mom, Lynn, wasn't keen on the idea when he phoned home. After the divorce, Lynn had had to balance her maternal instincts with the need to be judiciously supportive of decisions made by Travis and Nick as they grew to be men.

It helped that the boys had 18 uncles and aunts all over Multnomah County, Oregon, who weighed in on the rearing of the two boys as well as the herd of cousins they ran with and frequently led. While the mom in Lynn worried at her dare-devil little kid and, later, her white-water rafting teenager, the parent in her accepted Travis' explanation for joining the Marines: ''Because they're the toughest and the strongest."

What she couldn't support, what drove her crazy, was the tattooes ! They skirmished over all of them, especially the "sleeve" he was working on.

Travis figured the way around his mom was through the uncles. Who better than a heavily tattooed Marine to dampen the ardor of boys interested in his girl cousins, he challenged ! Point well taken, but it didn't exactly win an armistice. The heart tattoo with "Mom" written in it sort of backfired too. He'd had it put on the back of his neck and might have lost points when he explained: ''It seemed appropriate since you're always on my back.''

Their lively disagreement about "body art" notwithstanding, all recognized the unconditional love binding mother and son and their devotion to each other. Aware of the hazards he faced, Travis had written home to ask a favor of his Aunt Katie if anything should happen. ''He said, 'Make sure to take care of Mom. Make sure she doesn't go crazy.' That's what I'm supposed to be doing, making sure she doesn't go crazy. Every day, I figure that's what I'm doing for him.''

The Bradach clan made it through that grievous summer, leaning on each other, finding strength in the memory of Travis' zest for life.

Now, five years later, Lynn keeps the memory of her son alive dedicating her efforts to the eradication of land mines and cluster bombs.

It was, after all, the very work Travis was about when he was taken.