A memorial service was held yesterday for Kayla Mueller, an international aid worker with Doctors Without Borders who was kidnapped and held by ISIS for 18 months.
Nearly 500 people attended the service, which was held by Mueller’s family in their hometown of Prescott, Arizona. Arizona Senator John McCain touched on Kayla’s legacy:
“We can try to give justice to her murderers’ other victims and their families,” the Arizona senator said. “But even if we succeed, and our retribution is swift and complete, we could not equal the rebuke that Kayla’s life gave to the culture of death that robbed her of it.”
The Senator was visibly moved, working hard to keep his voice from cracking:
John McCain At Kayla Mueller Memorial
Image Source: Twitter
The memorial service featured a slideshow of happy memories from Mueller’s life. Her father, Carl Mueller, also read a letter Kayla wrote before her capture, which encapsulated her mindset and values.
Memorial Slide Show
Image Source: Twitter
The scene was heartbreaking, NBC News reports:
“Kayla Mueller’s father paused to regain his composure as he read the letter written while his daughter worked an earlier job at an orphanage in India. Mueller’s brother rubbed his father’s shoulder as he struggled to get through a particular passage.
‘This is my life’s work,’ Carl Mueller quoted his daughter as saying. ‘But my family is my life.'”
According to The Daily Courier, the Mueller family wore bright colors (including many items from Kayla’s belongings) to honor her memory:
Kayla’s father reading her letter
Image Source: Twitter
Unfortunately the cause of Kayla’s death has not yet been verified despite the explanation given by Islamic State militants.
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