 |
SwiftVets.com
Service to Country
|
| View previous topic :: View next topic |
| Author |
Message |
Schadow
Vice Admiral
Joined: 30 Sep 2004
Posts: 936
Location: Huntsville, Alabama
|
 Posted: Sat Apr 29, 2006 1:45 am Post subject: A Simple 'Thank You' |
 |
|
This is a story related by a Mr. Stuart Margel of Washington, DC (apocryphal; I don't have a source):
| Quote: | Last week, while traveling to Chicago on business, I noticed a Marine sergeant traveling with a folded flag, but did not put two and two together. After we'd boarded our flight, I turned to the sergeant, who'd been invited to sit in First Class (and was seated across from me), and inquired if he was heading home. "No," he responded. "Heading out?" I asked. "No. I'm escorting a soldier home." "Going to pick him up?" "No. He is with me right now. He was killed in Iraq. I'm taking him home to his family."
The realization of what he had been asked to do hit me like a punch to the gut. It was an honor for him. He told me that, although he didn't know the soldier, he had delivered the news of his passing to the soldier's family and felt as if he did know them after so many conversations in so few days. I turned back to him, extended my hand, and said, "Thank you. Thank you for doing what you do so my family and I can do what we do."
Upon landing in Chicago the pilot stopped short of the gate and made the following announcement over the intercom. "Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to note that we have had the honor of having Sergeant Steeley of the United States Marine Corps join us on this flight. He is escorting a fallen comrade back home to his family. I ask that you please remain in your seats when we open the forward door [so as to] allow Sergeant Steeley to deplane and receive his fellow soldier. We will then turn off the seat belt sign." Without a sound, all went as requested. I noticed the sergeant saluting the casket as it was brought off the plane, and his action made me realize that I am proud to be an American. So here's a public thank-you to our military for doing what you do so we can live the way we do. |
These two photos (unrelated to Sgt. Steeley's mission) were taken by Rocky Mountain News photographer Todd Heisler. They won first and second place at the Picture of the Year International competition this year. Descriptions precede the pictures:
| Quote: | | When 2nd Lt. James Cathey's body arrived at the Reno Airport, Marines climbed into the cargo hold of the plane and draped the flag over his casket as passengers watched the family gather on the tarmac. During the arrival of another Marine's casket last year at Denver International Airport, Major Steve Beck described the scene as one of the most powerful in the process: "See the people in the windows? They'll sit right there in the plane, watching those Marines. You gotta wonder what's going through their minds, knowing that they're on the plane that brought him home," he said. "They're going to remember being on that plane for the rest of their lives. They're going to remember bringing that Marine home. And they should." |
| Quote: | | The night before the burial of her husband's body, Katherine Cathey refused to leave the casket, asking to sleep next to his body for the last time. The Marines made a bed for her, tucking in the sheets below the flag. Before she fell asleep, she opened her laptop computer and played songs that reminded her of 'Cat,' and one of the Marines asked if she wanted them to continue standing watch as she slept. "I think it would be kind of nice if you kept doing it," she said. "I think that's what he would have wanted." |
Once in a while the press gets it right.
Schadow
_________________
Capt, 8th U.S. Army, Korea '53 - '54 |
|
| Back to top |
|
 |
Me#1You#10
Site Admin
Joined: 06 May 2004
Posts: 6503
|
| Posted: Sat Apr 29, 2006 2:17 am Post subject: |
|
|
Every now and then I like to print-out items of special note to pass around to family and friends. This is one of them.
Thank you for the post schadow. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
GenrXr
Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy
Joined: 05 Aug 2004
Posts: 1720
Location: Houston
|
| Posted: Sat Apr 29, 2006 5:01 am Post subject: |
|
|
thanks Schadow
without words
_________________
"An activist is the person who cleans up the water, not the one claiming its dirty."
"All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to stand by and do nothing." Edmund Burke (1729-1797), Founder of Conservative Philosophy |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
mtboone
Founder
Joined: 10 May 2004
Posts: 470
Location: Kansas City, MO.
|
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Schadow
Vice Admiral
Joined: 30 Sep 2004
Posts: 936
Location: Huntsville, Alabama
|
| Posted: Sun Apr 30, 2006 1:23 am Post subject: |
|
|
| mtboone wrote: | | ....keep plenty of tissues close by because you will need them. |
I think I used a half a box just writing the excerpts. Seventy-six year-old eyes hurt when they cry but the pain was worth it.
When you force yourself to withdraw from the acid bath of Washington, DC and the shameful communist atmosphere of northeast 'academe', and get a good hard look at heartland mores and morals, it gives one hope that America as we would like to see it is really still there, even if wrapped in the special pain of loss of heroic life.
There is no doubt that the best of America is exemplified in the loving care that the armed services bestow on the fallen and their families.
I doubt that I could maintain the 'stare'.
Schadow
_________________
Capt, 8th U.S. Army, Korea '53 - '54 |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
kate
Admin
Joined: 14 May 2004
Posts: 1891
Location: Upstate, New York
|
| Posted: Wed Oct 11, 2006 1:30 am Post subject: |
|
|
well deserved honor for the Rocky Mountain news, for this exceptional, well done story
Pulitzer Pictures of the Year ( Fallen Marines Tribute)
Pulitzer Pictures of the Year and an email from Stuart Margel -- Washington, D.C. ^ | 2006 | Todd Heisler
The Rocky Mountain News story that went with this was equally powerful, and also won the Pulitzer. It followed the Marine casualty officer Major Beck, and showed what he did with the various families that he worked with. It also went into depth on 2LT Calley's funeral and the incredible bond that the Marines had.
Story and some pics at FreeRepublic
More of the pics at pulitzer.org clicking on a pic, opens a series of pics
_________________
.
one of..... We The People |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
|
|
You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum
|
Powered by phpBB © 2001, 2005 phpBB Group
|
FAQ
Search
Memberlist
Usergroups
Register
Profile
Log in to check your private messages
Log in
