So She Fought

Joshua Wolfson: She visits him there, beside a lilac bush, framed by Casper Mountain and the city where he died.

A pair of vases bookends the headstone they will someday share. She wipes away dust from the marker and arranges the flowers. Lilies around Easter. Orange roses — his favorite — when she can find them.

She buys small American flags from Hobby Lobby or the Dollar Store and keeps them in her car. Four times a year — on Memorial Day, Veterans Day, Flag Day and his birthday — she sets a new one in the vase above his grave.

Before she leaves, Darlene Mitchell says a prayer.

She's been leaving the flags since her husband, Patrick, died 14 years ago. More than anything, that's what he…