If compassion is the only coin of value, then the memorial tree planting ceremony held in honor of Staff Sgt. Chenin Iglowitz was priceless.

On a perfect summer afternoon on July 31, approximately 60 family members and friends assembled at the east end of the Madigan Pond for the memorial. The weather perfectly fit the nickname many soldiers bestowed on her, "Little Miss Sunshine."

For a year and a half, Iglowitz, who worked as a licensed practical nurse in the Madigan Healthcare System's labor and delivery unit, fought lymphatic cancer.

She lost that fight in May.

"She was a real fighter," said her mother, Christina Iglowitz, moments before the tree planting.

"She was the bravest individual I've ever known," added her father, Jerry Iglowitz.

Iglowitz joined the Army two months after Sept. 11, 2001.

"There was a warrior spirit teeming through Chenin's heart and soul," said Col. Jerry Penner III, commander of Madigan Heathcare System, during a memorial service held earlier this year. "But her combat tour was not in Iraq or Afghanistan - it was right here at home.  I take my cues from the Iglowitz family who know their daughter's short life should be celebrated instead of mourned."

That celebration continued with the planting of a flowering pink dogwood.

The motivation for the tree planting began with the staff at Tacoma Family Medicine where Dr. Mook-Lan Iglowitz works.

"When we learned about Mook-Lan's sister's condition, we wanted to show our support," commented Dr. (Maj.) Bill Kriegsman, a reservist with the 445th Civil Affairs Battalion. "We began to look for something enduring, and coming to this park to plant a tree made perfect sense."

The dogwood was selected because it speaks to Iglowitz's character.

In comparing the tree's springtime beauty to her sister, Mook-Lan said, "She brought beauty into our lives over the past two years, and we've been blessed exponentially."

She also said that she and her sister used to walk around the pond where the tree will grow.

"My sister was always positive; this tree is an enduring symbol of that," Mook-Lan said.