Posted on 11/26/2015 7:52:33 AM PST by austinaero
"One of those patriots, a 21-year-old Army Soldier, will not be at the family table this Thanksgiving. He made his last trip home on October 16, his ashes carried by a family member. While boarding was about to begin, an employee of Alaskan Airlines asked travelers to help her honor the Soldier while she sang the National Anthem for him. Her tribute was recorded by a passenger on the flight and was later shared by another flight attendant."
(Excerpt) Read more at allenbwest.com ...
and this is why I always fly Alaska when heading to canada. Thread of the day so far and thanks for posting.
Thanks so much for posting this.
God Bless...
A beautiful tribute!
Many of our Veterans gave this woman the ‘freedom’ to do what she did...
One Classy Act!!!.....Way To Go America!!!
Wonderful story, except that none of the details match any of the official protocol for bringing fallen soldiers home.
For one thing, fallen soldiers (sailors, airmen, Marines) who are killed overseas are brought first to Dover, DE. From there, they are escorted home, often by a member of their unit, for the funeral and burial/cremation. Unless the family requests otherwise, military officials attend the funeral and render proper honors. The military pays for everything.
In this story, everything that happened is outside of official protocol. Families are not responsible for retrieving their fallen loved ones and bringing them home.
If they didn’t charge for bags, I’d fly them too. They go non-stop to some of my city pairs.
Oh well.
(and the funny thing is that I usually don’t check bags, as I have most of my stuff staged at my several destinations)
Reminds me of the film “Taking Chance”.
ONE minor detail. It is all subject to the family’s preference.
Not all of it is subject to the family’s preference.
The family’s discretion really only kicks in after the soldier (sailor/airman/Marine) is returned home. They can have their loved one delivered to a civilian funeral home and arrange for the funeral themselves if that is their choice. Actually, it isn’t even a family choice: the service member chooses ahead of time who is responsible for final arrangements, and all of the decisions are up to that person, and no one else.
I’m having difficulty in figuring out why/how a family member is carting around ashes of a service member, and why/how the ashes were in Anchorage.
How so you know protocol was not followed?
Take from it what you want. Perhaps the Svc member made those arrangements in advance.
That really isn’t the point of the thread. It’s about the beauty of the efforts of those who aren’t wrapped up in the protocol. I hope you are able to allow that.
On a recent DELTA flight, as we were taxiing to the terminal, the pilot announce there were four troops on board and asked the passengers to give them a large round of applause for protecting our freedoms.
They did.
I know because I am trained and certified in casualty duties. I was on call for the duty just this month. Thank God I did not have to use these skills this time.
Don’t get me wrong. I am sure that whoever wrote this story meant for people to feel all warm and fuzzy about it. And I certainly do appreciate civilian support of the military. People express their support quietly, personally, all the time, in some of the most unexpected places.
I’m just questioning the details of the story. If someone could explain why a family member was carrying around a Soldier’s ashes—instead of that Soldier being properly escorted home per official protocol—then I might be less skeptical.
This wonderful woman has a great God given voice. God Bless her for using it in this manner.
I think your duties have hardened you a bit. Happy Thanksgiving and thank you for what you do.
Didn't think they'd still have airplanes that far in the future.
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