BALTIMORE COUNTY — For the family of Specialist Antonio “Tony” Topp, Memorial Day is not just a long weekend, a cookout, or a parade.
It is an empty chair.
It is the space where a son, husband, father, brother, and soldier should still be sitting.
‘Everyone’s person got took’: Wife, mother remember Army veteran killed in motorcycle crash
Topp, a Baltimore native and Woodlawn High School graduate, served in the United States Army with Alpha Company, 1st Battalion, 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment, known as the “Red Devils," part of the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.
Before joining the military, his family says Topp worked for years as a truck driver. But later in life, he decided he wanted to serve.
“One day he came in and he said he was going into the Army and I was like, for real?” his mother, Pandora Topp, said. “He just was a child that wanted to serve others.”
His family says service fit the man they already knew.
“Tony was real special, so I can’t really say that the Army shaped him,” Pandora said. “He was a leader. He was a leader while he was here. He was a leader while he was in the Army.”
Topp completed multiple jumps as a paratrooper, and his family remembers how proud he was to serve with the 82nd Airborne.
His wife, Yaritza Topp, said he loved the work and kept count of his jumps.
“He used to come home talking about it,” she said. “He used to be so excited about it.”
But to Yaritza, Tony was more than a soldier.
The two met when they were 18 and were best friends before becoming husband and wife. Together, they built a blended family with four children.
“He was everything,” Yaritza said. “He was my safe space.”
She described him as a protector, provider, problem solver, and someone who always wanted to make life easier for the people he loved.
“His goal was always to make my life easier,” she said.
Now, his family says they see him everywhere. In pictures, in memories, in his children, and in the spaces he used to fill.
At his mother’s home, Pandora says some places still feel like Tony.
“I see him,” she said. “To me, he never left here. He’s still here.”
Yaritza says the same is true in her home.
“He’s all over my house,” she said. “You’re not going to turn and not be able to see him.”
Topp died in a motorcycle crash while on his way to work. His family says the grief is still fresh, and they are calling for more accountability in the case.
“My husband left on Friday morning to go to work and never came back,” Yaritza said.
She says she is now trying to keep going for their children.
“Autopilot,” she said. “I feel like at some point, if I allow myself to feel all the pain that comes with it, I’ll break...and I can’t break.”
While his loved ones continue to search for answers, they say they also want people to know who Tony was beyond the crash.
“He was a great person and he was great at everything he did,” Yaritza said. “He was just everyone’s person and unfortunately, everyone’s person got took.”
This Memorial Day, Tony’s family hopes people pause to remember the holiday's true meaning. The names, faces, families, and empty chairs left behind.
“Memorial Day is not easy and it’s not a celebration for everybody,” Yaritza said. “I’ll be celebrating my loved one in a different way.”
For Pandora, the message is simple.
If Tony were sitting in that chair again, she knows exactly what she would say.
“I love you,” she said. “Tell him that I love him. And I’m proud of him.”
