A Soldier Returns Home

At the end of our vacation, the aircraft taking us from Texas to California included the body of a soldier, escorted by his friend and comrade, a fellow soldier from his unit.

The escort was in service dress uniform. When I first saw him at the gate, I thought he was a recruiter. Three civilian volunteers wearing orange vests with the words Honor Escort soon arrived. I then thought a wounded soldier would be getting off the plane we would board.

But no wounded soldier departed the plane. Shortly before our boarding commenced, the airline attendant at the gate got on the public address, and announced that our flight would carry the body of a soldier from Fort Hood who died on active duty. The soldier escorting his comrade would go to the ramp to witness the placement of the casket into the aircraft. We were asked to stand in silence while this procedure was performed. We could look out the windows to the ramp below.

All the waiting passengers stopped talking and stood up and looked out the windows. The escort met the airline employees, who removed the flag draped casket from a trailer. The soldier escort saluted. Those airline employees not handling the casket or the flag saluted. The flag was lifted off the casket, and the casket was placed into the aircraft. The employees folded the flag with proper ceremony.

During this whole procedure, the waiting passengers remained standing. They did not move around, and they were completely silent. I doubt I was the only one with tears in my eyes.

The casket now aboard, the escort boarded first, taking a front row aisle seat, so he could be the first off the plane.

As we made our approach to Sacramento, the flight attendant got on the public address and asked us to remain seated upon reaching the gate, until the military escort left the plane. An Army honor guard awaited us at the ramp. All passengers remained seated and were quiet. From my seat I watched preparations for the removal of the casket. Once the escort left the plane, the passengers quietly got out of their seats and gathered their belongings. There was no rush to get out. There were no cell phone calls announcing arrivals. Everything was calm and respectful.

This soldier's death was not combat related. I learned from a civilian escort volunteer at the Dallas - Fort Worth Airport that he had died at Fort Hood from complications from a surgical procedure. Combat related or not, he died in the service of his country, and thus his fellow countrymen showed their respect for him on his final journey home.