Airline

Captain (don't delete)

He writes:

My lead flight attendant came to me and

said, "We have an HR. On this flight."

(H.R. Stands for human remains.) "Are they

military?" I asked.

'Yes',

she said.

'Is there an

escort?' I asked.

'Yes, I

already assigned him a seat'.



'Would you please tell him to come

to the flight deck. You can board him early," I

said..

A short

while later, a young army sergeant entered the

flight deck. He was the image of the

perfectly dressed soldier. He

introduced himself and I asked him about

his soldier. The escorts of

these fallen soldiers talk about them as if they

are still alive and still with

us.

'My soldier

is on his way back to Virginia ,' he

said. He proceeded to answer my

questions, but offered no

words.

I asked him if there

was anything I could do for him and he

said no. I told him that he had the

toughest job in the military and

that I appreciated the work that he does for

the families of our fallen soldiers.

The first officer and I got up out of

our seats to shake his hand. He left

the flight deck to find his seat.



We completed our preflight checks,

pushed back and performed an uneventful

departure. About 30 minutes into our

flight I received a call from the

lead flight attendant in the cabin. 'I

just found out the family of the soldier

we are carrying, is on board', she said.

She then proceeded to tell me that the father,

mother, wife and 2-year old daughter were

escorting their son,husband,

and father home. The family was upset because

they were unable to see the container that the

soldier was in before we left We

were on our way to a major hub at which the

family was going to wait four hours for the

connecting flight home to Virginia.

The

father of the soldier told the flight attendant

that knowing his son was below him in the cargo

compartment and being unable to see him was too

much for him and the family to bear. He had

asked the flight attendant if there were anything

that could be done to allow them to see him upon

our arrival. The family wanted to be outside by

the cargo door to watch the soldier being taken

off the airplane.I could

hear the desperation in the flight attendants

voice when she asked me if there were anything I

could do. 'I'm on it', I said. I told her

that I would get back to

her.

Airborne

communication with my company normally occurs in

the form of e-mail-like messages. I decided to

bypass this system and contact my flight

dispatcher directly on a
Secondary radio

There is a radio operator in the operations

control center which connects you to the telephone

of the dispatcher. I was in direct contact with

the dispatcher. I explained the situation I had

on board with the family and what it was the

family wanted. He said he understood and

that he would get back to me.

Two

hours went by and I had not heard from the

dispatcher We were going to get busy soon and I

needed to know what to tell the family. I sent a

text message asking for an update. I
Saved

the return message from the dispatcher and

the following is the text:



'Captain, sorry it has taken so long to

get back to you. There is policy on this now and

I had to check on a few things. Upon your

arrival a dedicated escort team will meet

the aircraft.
The team will escort the

family to the ramp and plane side. A van will be

used to load the remains with a secondary van

for the family. The family will be taken to

their departure area and escorted into the

terminal where the remains can be seen on the

ramp. It is a private area for the family only.

When the connecting aircraft arrives, the family

will be escorted onto the ramp and plane side to

watch theremains

being loaded for the final leg home

Captain, most of us here in flight control

are veterans.. Please pass our condolences on to

the family. Thanks.'

I sent a

message back telling flight control thanks for a

good job. I printed out the message and gave it

to the lead flight attendant to pass on to the

father.The lead

flight attendant was very

thankful and told me, 'Youhave no

idea how much this will mean to

them.'

Things started

getting busy for the descent, approach and

landing. After landing, we cleared the runway

and taxied to the ramp area. The ramp is huge

with 15 gates on either side ofthe

alleyway. It is always a busy area with

aircraft maneuvering every which way to enter

and exit. When we entered the ramp and checked

in with the ramp controller, we were

told
that all

traffic was being held for us.



'There is a team in place to meet

the aircraft', we were told. It looked

like it was all coming together, then I

realized that once we turned the seat belt

sign off, everyone would stand up at once and

delay the family from getting off the airplane.

As we approached our gate, I asked the co-pilot

to tell the ramp controller we were going to

stop short of the gate to
make an

announcement to the passengers. He did

that and the ramp controller said, 'Take your

time.'

I stopped

the aircraft and set the parking brake. I

pushed the public address button and

said, 'Ladies and gentleman, this is your

Captain speaking. I have stopped short of our

gate to make a special announcement. We

have a passenger on board who deserves our honor

and respect. His Name is Private XXXXXX, a

soldier who recently lost his life. Private

XXXXXX is under your feet in the cargo

hold. Escorting him today is

Army Sergeant

XXXXXXX. Also, on board are his father,

mother, wife, and daughter.Your

entire flight crew is asking for all passengers

to remain in their seats to allow the family to

exit the aircraft first. Thank

you.'

We continued the

turn to the gate, came to a stop and

started our shutdown procedures. A couple

of minutes later I opened the cockpit

door. I found the two forward

flight attendants crying, something

you just do not see. I was told that after

we came to a stop, every passenger on the

aircraft stayed in their seats, waiting for the

family to exit the aircraft.



When the family got up and gathered

their things, a passenger slowly started

to clap his hands. Moments later more

passengers joined in and soon the

entire aircraft was
clapping.

Words

of 'God Bless You', I'm sorry, thank you,

be proud, and other kind words were

uttered to the family as they made their way

down the aisle and out of the airplane.



They were escorted down to

the ramp to finally be with their loved

one.

Many of

the passengers disembarking thanked me for the

announcement I had made. They were

just words, I told them, I

could say them over and over again,

but nothing I say will bring back that

brave soldier.

I

respectfully ask that all of you reflect on this

event and the sacrifices that millions of

our men and women have made to

ensure our freedom and safety in

these United States of

AMERICA

Foot note:

I know

every one who has served their country who reads

this will have tears in their eyes,

including me.

Prayer chain

for our Military... Don't break it!



Please send this on after a short prayer

for our service men and women.

Don't

break it!

They die for me and mine and

you and yours and deserve our honor and

respect.

'Lord, hold

our troops in your loving hands. Protect them as

they protect us.. bless them and their families

for the selfless acts they perform for us in our

time of need.. In Jesus' Name, Amen.'


prayer

Request:

When you receive

this, please stop for a moment and say a prayer

for our troops around the world.. There is

nothing attached. Just send this to people in

your address book. Do not let it stop with you.

Of all the gifts you could give a Marine,

Soldier, Sailor, Airman, & others deployed

in harm's way, prayer is the very best

one.

GOD BLESS

YOU!!!