The Greatest Sacrifice
Today, as we honor all those who have ever served in the United States military, wemust remember with grateful hearts the young men and women who do not make it back home. We mustespecially honor and support their families, because their loved ones’ sacrificesare too hard to bear alone. Regrettably, there is very little public acknowledgement of soldiers who are killed in the line of duty.
This became all too clear to me while waiting for myflight at Dallas/Fort Worth airport. For about an hour, I sat next to a woman fromSeattle who had just buried her 26-year-old son at Arlington Cemetery on Wednesday, November 7.He had served nine years with the Army and was killed by a roadside bomb inAfghanistan on October 27.
She shared with me her heartbreaking journey of the past week. Sheexplained how her son's casket had been flown from Afghanistan to Fort Hood, Texas, which was where he had been stationed. She hadn’t realized that the military is not responsible for thearrangements or the cost of transporting our fallen heroes to Arlington.Fortunately, she received amazing service from Southwest Airlines,which treated her son with great respect and only charged her $99 to transport him.
Overwrought with emotion, this bereaved mother could not bring herself to flywith her son to Arlington. So it was arranged for her nephew, a Marine, toaccompany his cousin. Since these young men served in differentmilitary branches, the nephew had to get permission to oversee the transportation of his cousin's body. Southwest Airlines put him in First Class in appreciation for hisservice and special role. He never lostsight of his cousin, from being placed into the plane to being laid to rest inArlington.
The mother and her sister made the long journey from Texas to Virginia by road. At its end, she faced the reality of saying goodbye to themiddle son of three, who was married and left behind a 6-year-old daughterand adopted son a few years older.
She said the ceremony was quite moving, with the color guardand other vets standing at attention. She became unnerved though, during the 21-gun salute. After the service, she asked her sister to take her to the nearest bar, so she could try to calm down with a drink or two. Her sister was quite surprised by her request since she is not one to drink, but the experience of burying her son, a soldier, was more than she could bear.
It turns out that her son comes from a long line of family members who haveserved in the U.S. military going back to the Civil War. Her grandfather served inWWII. Her father was in the Air Force during the Vietnam war and was laid torest in Arlington two years ago. She herself served in the Navy for 11 yearsand is also a four-year survivor of breast cancer. When she mentionedthis she showed me the pink ribbon tattooed on her wrist, which her three sons also gotten to support her.
Speaking both as a veteran and mother of a son who gave his life inservice to our nation, she spoke her wish that all thedeployed sons/daughters, husband/wives and sisters/brothers will soon return safely. Sheshared that over 100 soldiers are buried at Arlington each week, Monday through Friday. These young people sacrificed theirlives for our nation, and yet the major media outlets fail toacknowledge them.
As they called us to board the plane, she showed me her blackribbon with the U.S. flag and picture of her son. We said our farewells andwished each other a safe journey to our respective destinations. I can say Iwas humbled to sit by this courageous woman and expressed my gratitude for her entire family's service and sacrifice. It was a privilege to provide her some comfortand support by simply listening to her story of pain and anguish over losing herbeloved,very handsome son. Also, to honor his memory andhow his light brightened the lives of the people around him. But mostimportantly, to acknowledge that he had made the greatest sacrifice for ournation which should not be forgotten.
This was a Veterans Day that I will never forget. Thankyou to all those who have served and died for our freedoms! This is my tribute to allof our fallen heroes whose stars forever shine.