"Our children didn't just give up their lives. They sacrificed their lives for a reason," Louella Frison told Action News.
On this Memorial Day, Louella is honoring her son, 1st Lt. Demetrius Frison, who was killed by a roadside bomb in Afghanistan nearly three weeks ago.
Louella buried her 26-year-old son last week at a cemetery in Newtown, Bucks County, just days after Demetrius's remains arrived at Dover Air Force base.
Now, as the nation remembers those who lost their lives serving their country, she remembers the little boy whom she raised right here in the Logan section of the city.
"He would lay on the bed and I would read Bible verses to him, read books to him, and we would sit and read," Louella said. "He was honorable, peaceful, he never liked to argue and raise Cain."
Demetrius enlisted only two years ago and leaves behind a wife and 6-month-old son. But Mrs. Frison says she's not bitter. Instead, she says she chooses to find strength in what remains behind.
"I know for a fact, right now today, if he was here, he'd say, 'Mom, I did all I could. It was just time. Relax,'" Louella said.
And that, she says, will now be her son's legacy.
The legacy of a young man who didn't look for the easy way out, believed in what he fought for, and ended his life having honored his country and his family name.
"My son did a good job. In that little bit of time he was there, he did a good job," Louella said.