some honor still left in our country

[blaze83]

this is a copy of an email i received from a friend in Seattle. It touched my heart and I thought it might bless some of you here on the Forum. I wasn't sure where to put it so if it needs to be moved i'm sorry.

God Bless This Airline Pilot

He (the pilot) writes: My lead flight attendant came to me and
said, "We have an H.R. on this flight."

(H.R. stands for human remains.) "Are they military?" I asked.

'Yes', she said.

'Is there an escort?' I asked.

'Yes, I already assigned him a seat'.

'Would you please tell him to come to the flight deck.
You can board him early," I said.



A short while later, a young army sergeant entered the
flight deck. He was the image of the perfectly dressed soldier. He introduced
himself and I asked him about his soldier. The escorts of these fallen soldiers
talk about them as if they are still alive and still with us.


'My soldier is on his way back to Virginia', he said. He proceeded to
answer my questions, but
offered no words on his own.


I asked him if there was anything I could do for him and he
said no. I told him that he had the toughest job in the military and that I
appreciated the work that he does for the families of our fallen soldiers. The
first officer and I got up out of our seats to shake his hand. He left the
flight deck to find his seat.


We completed our preflight checks, pushed back and
performed an uneventful departure. About 30 minutes into our flight I
received a
call from the lead flight attendant in the cabin. 'I just found out the
family of the soldier we are carrying, is on board', he said. He then proceeded
to tell me that the father, mother, wife and 2 - year old daughter were
escorting their son, husband, and father home. The family was upset
because they
were unable to see the container that the soldier was in before we left. We
were on our way to a major hub at which the family was going to wait four hours
for the connecting flight home to Virginia .


The father of the soldier told the flight attendant that
knowing his son was below him in the cargo compartment and being unable to see
him was too much for him and the family to bear. He had asked the flight
attendant if there was anything that could be done to allow them to
see him upon
our arrival. The family wanted to be outside by the cargo door to watch the
soldier being taken off the airplane. I could hear the desperation in the
flight attendants voice when he asked me if there was anything I could do.
'I'm on it', I said. I told him that I would get back to him.


Airborne communication with my company normally occurs in
the form of e - mail like messages. I decided to bypass this system and contact
my flight dispatcher directly on a secondary radio. There is a radio
operator in
the operations control center who connects you to the telephone of the
dispatcher. I was in direct contact with the dispatcher. I explained the
situation I had on board with the family and what it was the family
wanted. He said
he understood and that he would get back to me.


Two hours went by and I had not heard from the dispatcher.
We were going to get busy soon and I needed to know what to tell the family. I
sent a text message asking for an update. I saved the return message from the
dispatcher and this following is the text:


'Captain, sorry it has taken so long to get back to
you. There is policy on this now and I had to check on a few things. Upon your
arrival a dedicated escort team will meet the aircraft. The team will escort
the family to the ramp and planeside. A van will be used to load the
remains with
a secondary van for the family. The family will be taken to their departure
area and escorted into the terminal where the remains can be seen on
the ramp. It
is a private area for the family only. When the connecting aircraft arrives,
the family will be escorted onto the ramp and planeside to watch the remains
being loaded for the final leg home. Captain, most of us here in flight control
are veterans. Please pass our condolences on to the family. Thanks.'


I sent a message back telling flight control thanks for a
good job. I printed out the message and gave it to the lead flight attendant to
pass on to the father. The lead flight attendant was very thankful and
told me, 'You have no idea how much this will mean to them.'


Things started getting busy for the descent, approach and
landing. After landing, we cleared the runway and taxied to the ramp area.
The ramp is huge with 15 gates on either side of the alleyway. It is always
a busy area with aircraft maneuvering every which way to enter and exit.
When we entered the ramp and checked in with the ramp controller, we were told
that all traffic was being held for us.


'There is a team in place to meet the aircraft', we
were told. It looked like it was all coming together, then I realized
that once we
turned the seat belt sign off, everyone would stand up at once and delay the
family from getting off the airplane. As we approached our gate, I asked the
copilot to tell the ramp controller we were going to stop short of
the gate to make an
announcement to the passengers. He did that and he ramp controller said,
'Take your time.'


I stopped the aircraft and set the parking brake. I pushed
the public address button and said, 'Ladies and gentleman, this is your
Captain speaking I have stopped short of our gate to make a special
announcement.
We have a passenger on board who deserves our honor and respect. His Name is
Private XXXXXX, a soldier who recently lost his life. Private XXXXXX is under
your feet in the cargo hold. Escorting him today is Army Sergeant XXXXXXX.
Also, on board are his father, mother, wife, and daughter. Your entire flight
crew is asking for all passengers to remain in their seats to allow the family
to exit the aircraft first. Thank you.'


We continued the turn to the gate, came to a stop and
started our shutdown procedures. A couple of minutes later I opened the cockpit
door. I found the two forward flight attendants crying, something you just do
not see. I was told that after we came to a stop, every passenger on the
aircraft stayed in their seats, waiting for the family to exit the aircraft.


When the family got up and gathered their things, a
passenger slowly started to clap his hands. Moments later more
passengers joined in and
soon the entire aircraft was clapping. Words of 'God Bless You',
I'm sorry, thank you, be proud, and other kind words were uttered to
the family as
they made their way down the aisle and out of the airplane. They were escorted
down to the ramp to finally be with their loved one.


Many of the passengers disembarking thanked me for the
announcement I had made. They were just words, I told them, I could
say them over
and over again, but nothing I say will bring back that brave soldier.


I respectfully ask that all of you reflect on this event
and the sacrifices that millions of our men and women have made to ensure our
freedom and safety in these United States of America .

Foot note from the person who sent this:


As a Viet Nam Veteran I can only think of all the veterans
including the ones that rode below the deck on their way home and how they we
were treated. When I read things like this I am proud that our country has not
turned their backs on our soldiers returning from the various war
zones today and
give them the respect they so deserve.


I know every Viet Nam veteran who reads this will have tears in their eyes,
including me.


You don't have to be a Viet Nam Vet to have tears in
your eyes while reading this. Thank you to all who have served and are still
serving.


A Grateful Nation. God Bless the USA

[Patty]

That was very nice, Blaze. Thank you so much for posting it.

God Bless all of our soldiers and their families.

[Raider Bill]

Outstanding post! Thank you!

[fishpharmer]

Well done Blaze.  That was a very worthwhile post.

[Ron Scott]

Well done!

[Magicman]

I thank you, but most of all.........I Thank Them..... smiley_applause

[bd354]

   I would like to add my thanks for posting that. It made my day.

[wesdor]

Thanks, Not only made my day, but had tears in my eyes.

[CLL]

From one Vietnam vet to another, thanks for the words. All who have served deserve respect for what they have done.

[thecfarm]

A very nice post.I feel we all can not show enough respect that all the soldiers deserves.
I watched a movie starring Kevin Beacon.He escorted a soldier back to his hometown.A very nice movie that shows the respect all fallen soldiers get.

[captain_crunch]

Amen
Brian

[stumpy]

Thank you for posting that
Thank all you vets for everything
A special thanks to all the Vietnam and Korea vets as they never received a proper amount of respect for all they have done for our contry.

[jim king]

Thanks, Not only made my day, but had tears in my eyes.

Very nice

[Ron Scott]

Angel Flight

http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=70Ikj1hZDnw&feature=related

[red oaks lumber]

thanks to all that have served or are serving.
this whole thread is very touching!

[WmFritz]

Thanks for pulling this thread back up Ron. Beautiful story and a great video.

I think my computer is broken though... the screen is real blurry.

[Cityarb]

Thank you to all of our Veterans, may God Bless you and strengthen you through this journey of life.

[Chris Burchfield]

"You don't have to be a Viet Nam Vet to have tears in
your eyes while reading this. Thank you to all who have served and are still
serving."

[Jamie_C]

Thanks for pulling this thread back up Ron. Beautiful story and a great video.

I think my computer is broken though... the screen is real blurry.

Same problem here

[Ernie]

"You don't have to be a Viet Nam Vet to have tears in
your eyes while reading this. Thank you to all who have served and are still
serving."

You don't have to be American either, this old Canadian Kiwi shed more than a few tears, Thanks for the post

[justallan1]

Thank you for the story and still thanking all of the men and women who have been there for our country.
Allan

[Migal]

A very great post thanks for sharing this email and thanks to all that have served for the great USA for our freedom Amen

[BaldBob]

Thank you for bringing that post back. I like to think of myself as pretty hard shelled and not at all sentimental, but this Nam Vet also had a very blurry screen after reading that.

[beenthere]

Thought I could add to this thread with what this marine did in a response to a question.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fbaHwFKzBF0

[WmFritz]

Very nice BT...  I loved the show of respect when people realized what was happening and stood. Great voice, too!