Sacrifice: A Proper Perspective
(May 3, 2011) |
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F. E. WARREN AIR FORCE BASE, Wyo. (AFNS - 4/29/2011) -- Like
so many other military members, my 2009 deployment started
with a tearful goodbye to my family and a long walk down the
Jetway of a local airport. I was off to the desert, or more
generically, the Middle East. I was not particularly looking
forward to this deployment, but I would do my duty as
required.
As with all military endeavors, there
seemed to be an inordinate amount of "hurry up and wait."
This is the phenomenon of showing up six hours before
catching the rotator, or contract aircraft, only to spend
five of those hours waiting to depart. These sentiments
seemed to be shared by my fellow service members as we
waited for what seem to be an eternity.
Flying from
the continental United States to an overseas location is
never a short enterprise. As expected, the long flights were
accompanied with poor sleeping, if any, and barely edible
airline food. All in all, it was an undesirable experience.
After arriving at our first stop in Southwest Asia my
fellow service members and I were informed our layover could
be anywhere from one to five days. With nothing to do and
thousands of square miles of barren land to do it in, the
prospects of something better were fading quickly. This
brought morale to an all-time low for everyone, and I was no
exception.
I was sorely disappointed to hear my air
transport would be aboard a C-130 Hercules. This was
certainly not the most favorable way to get to where I was
going. Cramped space would put my knees right up against the
person sitting opposite of me, and high temperatures in this
region would no doubt leave me sweating off pounds by the
minute. Our carry-on luggage might end up on top of us, or
more uncomfortably, underneath us. This all proved to be
exactly as I imagined.
Trying to look on the bright
side, I told myself, "Things couldn't be all that bad. This
should be a non-stop flight to my final destination, right?"
Unfortunately, there would be a three-and-a-half hour
flight, a layover at relatively remote location, then a
short flight to my final destination. At this point, I
didn't care much, because I had hardly slept at all in four
days, and I just wanted to get where I was going.
The
only good thing about the layover was that it was only
supposed to take a few minutes as several passengers and
their cargo were being offloaded. Things were going as
planned, and we were ready to depart from our short layover
when the back ramp of the aircraft came open again and the
engines shut down completely.
I thought, "What could
possibly be the problem now?"
The pilot came back
into the passenger and cargo compartment and announced the
flight had been delayed because we would be taking "HR" on
board.
I thought, "HR? What in the world is that?"
The pilot said there would be a ceremony as this took
place, and then we could be on our way. It was then I
realized "HR" meant human remains.
Reality check
There had been a casualty of the conflict I was going to
support, and that casualty was an American. The body of that
American would be loaded onto the aircraft transporting me
and my fellow service members to our deployed location. For
the deceased service member, this would be the first leg of
a journey back to grieving loved ones for final respects and
burial in the United States.
As my fellow passengers
and I disembarked the aircraft and headed for the terminal
at this military field, the mood was somber. We weren't sure
exactly what was going on or how long it was going to take,
but that seemed less important in the context of what was
happening. Just then, a senior NCO announced we had been
invited to participate in the ramp ceremony, which our pilot
had previously mentioned.
Every passenger of our
aircraft moved quickly to participate in the ceremony. We
joined more than a hundred service members already standing
in formation. As we began to take our places, more service
members continued to show up. By the time the ceremony
began, there were approximately 300 to 400 service members
in two long formations.
We marched out to form a
corridor through which the flag-draped case would pass in
procession.
With the color guard in place, the senior
leaders took their position and we all saluted. An Army
chaplain then read scripture as he lead eight Soldiers
bearing the case on their shoulders. Some of those Soldiers
had tears running down their cheeks, no doubt because they
knew the individual in the casket.
Normally, standing
at attention for 15 to 20 minutes would have seemed like
torture, but not in this situation. The strength to stand
and salute was easy when compared to the sacrifice of the
deceased we were saluting. Even though we were tired from
several days of flying, there were no complaints as we paid
our respects.
I didn't know the name, gender,
military service or military specialty of the person in the
case. Neither did I know the circumstance nor cause of
death. But, none of that really mattered, because one of my
fellow countrymen had given the ultimate sacrifice for the
cause of freedom.
As the bugle played Taps, I felt
tears coming to my eyes, for the reality of the moment
overshadowed what now proved to be petty annoyances I had
felt over the previous few days.
Perspective
At first, I thought how much of an honor it was to have this
American hero onboard our aircraft on the last leg of our
journey. However, the more I thought, the more I realized it
was also my honor to accompany this hero on the first leg of
the final journey home.
Were my inconveniences really
as big as I thought? The delays and travel complications
were nothing in comparison to the dreadful anticipation of
this warrior's loved ones who might have already heard of
his tragic death.
This put into clear perspective my
responsibility, lest I forget that I, like every service
member, raised my hand and swore an oath to defend the
Constitution of the United States of America against all
enemies, foreign and domestic. Although I don't desire the
same end as the one to whom I paid respects that day, I am
willing to accept such an end, if that is the cost required
of me for the freedom of my family, the freedom of every
citizen of the U.S. and the freedom of every citizen of this
world. |
By USAF Capt. Douglas Pietersma
20th Air Force Director of Intelligence Copyright 2011 |
Reprinted from
Air Force News
Service
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