Final Salute
April 12, 2006
They are the troops that nobody wants to see, carrying a message that no military family ever wants to hear.
It begins with a knock at the door.
Ok, I’m tired and there’s no way I can do justice to this story…so I’m just going to copy and paste the stuff I stole from my hubby, who received it in an email from his friend Jim. And then I’ll give you the link to the awesome story that I was able to find to go along with it. Pictures are all ©Todd Heisler The Rocky Mountain News.
When 2nd Lt. James Cathey’s body arrived at the Reno Airport, Marines climbed into the cargo hold of the plane and draped the flag over his casket as passengers watched the family gather on the tarmac. During the arrival of another Marine’s casket last year at Denver International Airport, Major Steve Beck described the scene as one of the most powerful in the process: “See the people in the windows? They’ll sit right there in the plane, watching those Marines. You gotta wonder what’s going through their minds, knowing that they’re on the plane that brought him home,” he said. “They’re going to remember being on that plane for the rest of their lives. They’re going to remember bringing that Marine home. And they should.”
This next picture just gives me the chills. I can so see myself wanting to do the same if I were in her place.
The night before the burial of her husband’s body, Katherine Cathey refused to leave the casket, asking to sleep next to his body for the last time. The Marines made a bed for her, tucking in the sheets below the flag. Before she fell asleep, she opened her laptop computer and played songs that reminded her of ‘Cat,’ and one of the Marines asked if she wanted them to continue standing watch as she slept. “I think it would be kind of nice if you kept doing it,” she said. “I think that’s what he would have done……….
The whole story can be found here…go look, ok?
Crossposted at The Cotillion.
**UPDATE**
I’m trying to get my trackbacks working, and Miss Beth is doing open trackbacks in a mission to get us all fixed…so I figured this was the most interesting thing I’ve posted lately. Let’s see if the trackbacks work now, lol. Somehow I’m not holding my breath, as I’m not sure I did the .htaccess thingy right…but we’ll see!
Posted in Uncategorized
My name is Tammy. I'm a 45 year-old married mother of three teenagers, living in my version of paradise, also known as SW Florida. I can tend to be opinionated. My political views lean to the right. I'll think of more later, lol.
April 12th, 2006 at 8:31 pm
wow, im tearing up
April 12th, 2006 at 8:32 pm
BEAUTIFUL, Tammy.
Thanks for sharing this.
April 12th, 2006 at 9:03 pm
Leaking here. Thanks so much for posting this.
wow
April 12th, 2006 at 11:16 pm
Thanks Tammy – this is a beautiful tribute. I’m posting about it as soon as I get over the lump in my throat.
April 13th, 2006 at 1:49 am
Final Salute…
“You always hear all these statements like ‘Freedom isn’t free’. You hear the President talking about all these people making sacrifices. But you never really know until you carry one of them in the casket. When you feel their b…
April 13th, 2006 at 9:39 am
Yep, a mascara alert was definitely in order here. Thanks for sharing this heartfelt story.
April 13th, 2006 at 11:42 am
I read all the way through this last night and it is INCREDIBLE!!! I was in tears and so proud of these brave, compassionate Marines. Definitely further proof of the quality and character of our Armed Forces.
Semper Fi.
And NEVER forget!
– R’cat
CatHouseChat.com
April 13th, 2006 at 5:27 pm
When Mike was in the USMC this was my greatest fear. I stil have those fears each time he goes out on patrol or on buys/busts. I imagine those sitting on the plane respect and admire those who serve our country but until that very moment it never clicked for them what kind of sacrifice they are willing to make. I’m so thankful for not only those who serve but those families who unselfishly give their loved ones to keep us safe. They are also the heroes here.
April 14th, 2006 at 2:12 pm
That was such a sad and touching story about Katherine Cathey. It touched my heart, Tammy.
You are invited to my 200th post party over the weekend, in which all on my bloglist will be featured!
April 17th, 2006 at 2:40 pm
Thanks for visiting the party, Tammy!