LadyJeepFreak
New member
Have any of you ever particpated in a miltary funeral, active duty?
I had a young family friend that was killed in Iraq about two weeks ago. We have had a horrible two weeks. My brother was close to him and all of us knew him.
The family had two sons close in age, 26 and 28. This soldier was 26 and had spent two years meeting the requirements to be a marine and got in last year. He was in just over a year. He was not married yet nor had children.
He was sent to Iraq this past January and killed by a sniper in a non-hostile (yea, right) incident during late April.
I have marked active military funerals right up on my list of "hope I never have to" again. It is second after the funeral of a small baby or child.
I had to attend one of those one time for a four month old step neice and it was the worst event of that entire year.
Yesterday we had his interment at Arlington National Cemetary in DC. I had never been there or to a military funeral.
When they play taps and did his 21 guns salute, there wasn't a dry eye in the field. I was suprised at how many people drove the three hours to his interment. He will be missed by many.
The staff at the cemetary were very kind and professional to us though and the ceremony, while short and a bit unfamiliar was beautiful and impressive.
The plot he is in is full of other active military soldiers that died in Iraq.
Standing there in a field of lost soldiers, both in older and fresh graves (without headstones) sure put a turn on this war for me.
It gave me a whole different outlook on military action. I will keep the whole of that to myself, but it just amazed me how it changed me.
I am sure it changed alot of people, for good or worse.
I will always keep all soldiers families a bit closer to my heart now. I pray that everyone else does too.
It saddens me that it took an event like this one to make me or others realize the sacrifice soldiers and thier families make for this nation, whether they believe in the cause or not.
I have always supported soldiers and soldiers families, but in a whole different light now that I have seen the other end of this sacrifice.
Lady
I had a young family friend that was killed in Iraq about two weeks ago. We have had a horrible two weeks. My brother was close to him and all of us knew him.
The family had two sons close in age, 26 and 28. This soldier was 26 and had spent two years meeting the requirements to be a marine and got in last year. He was in just over a year. He was not married yet nor had children.
He was sent to Iraq this past January and killed by a sniper in a non-hostile (yea, right) incident during late April.
I have marked active military funerals right up on my list of "hope I never have to" again. It is second after the funeral of a small baby or child.
I had to attend one of those one time for a four month old step neice and it was the worst event of that entire year.
Yesterday we had his interment at Arlington National Cemetary in DC. I had never been there or to a military funeral.
When they play taps and did his 21 guns salute, there wasn't a dry eye in the field. I was suprised at how many people drove the three hours to his interment. He will be missed by many.
The staff at the cemetary were very kind and professional to us though and the ceremony, while short and a bit unfamiliar was beautiful and impressive.
The plot he is in is full of other active military soldiers that died in Iraq.
Standing there in a field of lost soldiers, both in older and fresh graves (without headstones) sure put a turn on this war for me.
It gave me a whole different outlook on military action. I will keep the whole of that to myself, but it just amazed me how it changed me.
I am sure it changed alot of people, for good or worse.
I will always keep all soldiers families a bit closer to my heart now. I pray that everyone else does too.
It saddens me that it took an event like this one to make me or others realize the sacrifice soldiers and thier families make for this nation, whether they believe in the cause or not.
I have always supported soldiers and soldiers families, but in a whole different light now that I have seen the other end of this sacrifice.
Lady
