The Veteran's Cemetery in Santa Fe is beautiful, with well-kept grounds and a spectacular view of the mountains. The Veterans' Affairs staff there is helpful beyond belief. But most impressive of all was the Honor Guard.
This must be a tough duty, spending all day, every day welcoming home fallen veterans. It must take a special sort of personality to be continually surrounded by grieving families, and to take that grief as an inspiration to perfect the ceremony. The respect they showed - especially to Mom - was very moving.
It's strange, but after months leading up to Dad's death, and three weeks now to process the emotions, that I wasn't ready for the emotions that washed over me when the guard slow-saluted Mom, and then knelt down to present her the flag.
This flag is presented on behalf of a grateful nation and the United States Army as a token of appreciation for your loved one's honorable and faithful service.
The Honor Guard has a hard duty, and one that may seem unimportant. After all, it's just one more old man leaving his grieving family behind. The kindness and respect they devoted speaks volumes of them, and the Republic.
This is the final test of a gentleman: his respect for those who can be of no possible service to him.
- William Lyon Phelps
11 comments:
Brings back memories, we went through this with my Dad a few years back.
...I wasn't ready for the emotions that washed over me when the guard slow-saluted Mom, and then knelt down to present her the flag.
Eight months after my grandfather died and the flag was presented to my mother and her sisters I still find myself flooded with emotion. Partly out of the respect I will always have for him and the pride that he had for his service during WWII, partly out of simply missing him, and partly due to the fact that my one great regret in life is that I have not served my country.
Those same emotions still wash over me every time I see a flag folded for presentation - especially when I see my Dad's...
I'm glad you had many visits with him. Thinking of you and your family.
I'm sorry for your loss but glad that you had time to prepare for his passing and that you had some quality time with him.
You dad did well to earn such respect, and the Honor Guard did well to deliver it.
Jim
God bless you Sir. May you have an honored place in the Hall of Heroes.
I opened up this little window to type a reply. I have words to say, but eloquence escapes me.
You have, to your father, presented a series of very touching very beautiful blog posts as a thank you for the life that he shared with you.
And I thank you for sharing them with all of us.
"This is the final test of a gentleman: his respect for those who can be of no possible service to him."
Perfect.
Borepatch: thank you sir.
Thank you for this series of posts.
I can only hope that those to whom I had the duty, honor and responsibility of passing the flag felt the same way.
The hardest one was passing the flag from a friends casket to his widow, another Naval Officer who worked for me...thought of that again when reading this post.
This is making my eyes leak. I don't think your Dad could've asked for a greater honor than the posts you've had up while going through this.
Next time you talk to him in the middle of the night, pass along my thanks for his service.
And as for you, sir, you're living testimony as to how a good man raises a son.
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