And LtCol Goodson, I salute you for doing a job I had trouble with when I was a cop making just the occasional / infrequent death notice. I know I would be unable to do it day after day for any time at all before I went round the bend!
America! It's about
Awesome story!!!
LtCol George Goodson
Marines! Hand Salute!
A younger friend of mine who is a Marine officer spent a year or so working as a notification officer. From what he said of it, not an easy job.
Thanks for the posting.
Thanks for posting this, Neil. I had a hard enough time just forwarding it to you without soaking my keyboard with tears!
I found this interview LtCol Goodson which was done in 2009. Thought you might want to see it.
http://www.thesandgram.com/2009/12/22/internet-legend-ltcol-george-goodson-usmc-ret/
My God. “Where do we get such men?”
My dad is buried at Arlington, and when I watched the way they treated his ceremony, a long retired veteran, with such respect and attention to detail, I was amazed.
They didn’t know my father. But they treated every single aspect of that ceremony with the gravity, respect and courtesy as if it were their own kin, which in a way, I suppose he was.
My heart is filled with gratitude not only for those who serve and have served, but for all those in the system that must deal with the issues of death and dying. No matter your walk of life, it isn’t always easy or pleasant, but especially not for those who must often involve themselves in the deaths of young people in the prime of their lives, and the issues surrounding the death.
A hard story to read with a dry eye.
We all know that war is sometimes necessary and the sacrifice of these amazing young men is inevitable. A grateful nation has lost a good man as from time to time it must, but some mother and father have lost much more than that. It may be “worth it” for us, but is it “worth it” for them? That’s an impossible question. But the question holds part of the answer, I think. “on behalf of a grateful nation” isn’t just a throwaway sentiment. We are grateful, and we can never make good on the debt. But we do tally the debt, all the same.
I think this is what Lincoln meant when he said at Gettysburg:
“... But, in a larger sense, we cannot dedicate—we cannot consecrate—we cannot hallow—this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us—that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion—that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain—that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom— and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”
A wonderful story.
This is why I love Free Republic.
I can’t imagine a Marine Corps car pulling into my driveway.
Stay safe, son, and may God keep you safe.
I’m reminded that back in my CG days, we did several burials at sea. None of them involved a full casket. They were all a scattering of ashes. But I remember that on those days— they were solemn days aboard ship. We were just a bunch of young kids, but that was one of the jobs we took very, very seriously. Sometimes there was family present, and sometimes not. But regardless we took care to get into our best dress uniforms and we practiced to get the ceremony just right. Get the rifle salutes just right. We all listened to the story of this finally fallen sailor. It was our task to do this one last thing for them. What an honor for an unworthy little kid like me to do.
Excellent post! And to the Colonel .. well done, and thank yu for your service. I will never achieve the honor which you have given.
I did a few burials-at-sea, probably about ten or so. Things are different now. I don’t think they even do caskets, at least I never saw one. They were all spreading ashes.
In Navigation, my part was to make sure the proper entries were made in the deck log, the ensign was half-masted and closed up at the appropriate times and that a copy of the local chart with the burial site marked was made up. The chart and a copy of the deck log were passed back to the family.