As we pause to reflect this Memorial Day weekend, NY1 is taking a look back at fallen heroes. Michael Scotto begins with Schuyler Haynes, a decorated Iraq War soldier who came from a part of the city not often associated with military service. 

Even before the door opens to this Manhattan apartment, it's clear someone special once lived here.

That person was Sgt. First Class Schuyler Haynes - a soldier from the Upper West Side who died more than a decade ago in Iraq when an improvised explosive device went off near his vehicle.

"They tell you the time will heal everything, which is nonsense," says his mother, Sophy Haynes.

Schuyler's mother says she feels her best when talking about her son - a modest man who never talked about himself or even liked to have his photo taken.

The photos that were taken of him are everywhere in her apartment, along with medals he earned and letters Sophy Haynes received when he died.

"Hillary Clinton right there," she says, pointing out one of them.

And there was this one from then-President George W. Bush

"We will forever honor his memory..." Bush wrote.

Sophy Haynes says it was only after Schuyler's death that she learned everything about her son's nearly 20-year career in the military.. how he was often on the front lines, bravely leading scouting missions.

"It helps but also it's bothersome. I wish I had none when he was alive. I wish I could have shared it with him. I wish I could have said, 'hey, that's fantastic,'" she says.

She visits Fort Hood every year to spend time with the soldiers her son once served with. 

"It's like becoming alive again," she explains.

There aren't many mothers from the Upper West Side who make the same journey. Military service is not a big part of life in the comfortable neighborhoods of Manhattan.

"It's not the in thing to do, though, but yes, it's a great career," Sophy Haynes says.

Schuyler Haynes always wanted to join the Army, in large part because he came from a decorated military family. A Trinity College graduate, he was a descendant of Philip Schuyler, a Revolutionary War general who was Alexander Hamilton's father-in-law. 

"It's what he wanted to do. Yes, it's risky but a lot of other things are risky too," Sophy Haynes says.

She says Memorial Day is like every other day - spent remembering a son who died too soon. 

"The pain is there," Sophy Haynes says, "and the fact that the day has a name doesn't really change all that much."