Very moving indeed, and really depicts the way it happens. Our funeral home in Arkansas was in charge for one of the first casualties of the Iraq war, a member of the National Guard. I made the trip to Memphis to pick up his remains and was met there by such an escort. Very large service, with many high ranking officers and elected officials.
This was not the first time I have handled the arrngements for a soldier killer in combat. Here at Alton we had a local boy, a highly decorated Green Beret, lose his life in South America, involved in a misson even his family was not to know about. Every time I hear the song, the Ballad of the Green Beret, I think of this young man, as that is what was played before and after his service.
Because I have seen first hand the sacrifices our young men and women are willing to make, I have the upmost respect for them.
