Good evening,
The last 24 hours has been overwhelming. I think I managed to get about 5 1/2 hours of sleep since Monday morning. I am pretty sure this is still Tuesday! It's very strange how the days all blend together when you are awake across all hours.
Last night (10pm) through this morning (2am) we welcomed home 6 servicemembers and cared for over 40 family members / friends in attendance. It is by far the largest Dignified Transfer that has come through this year. It took a full complement of personnel to see to every one's needs in the 4 hour period. I was tasked with escort duties and had two that I had to meet at the aircraft, before bringing them over to the Center For The Families Of The Fallen. I carried their ruck sacks and saw to it that they were briefed on what to say and do when they met the families. In the meantime, my partner was working at the center welcoming the families and making their short stay comfortable. When I arrived, I introduced the escorts to the Casualty Assistance Officer and joined my partner and the other support personnel. We continued through the late night and into the morning until the mission was complete. One fallen servicemember in particular was a young woman. Surviving her was her husband and a small child. As I understand, she was running toward a bunker during an attack and suffered a shrapnel wound that she could not survive. I assisted in the processing this morning and saw her pass through X-ray and CT Scan stations. I helped the technicians as they carefully and delicately adjusted for each picture and then I rolled her out to the forensic dentists. It was truly an honor to assist in such a moment, but also extremely humbling. I couldn't help but look up and thank God for the life this woman led here among us all.
This evening, just a few short hours ago, I assisted in another DT. We welcomed home a Marine, a dad. I sat with his son, a five year old little man, in the children's room and watched Thomas The Tank Engine with him. The little fella was captivated by Thomas. I gently spoke to mom, standing nearby, and got her to talk about their home and what her young son liked to do. The little guy started coloring and I just grabbed a coloring book and joined him. He drew a plane that looked like a school bus, but a plane nevertheless to a 5yr old. I laughed. I colored a snail in a coloring book and made it a point to ensure that the snail was very colorful and bright, rather than dull, gray and slimy. I swirled all sorts of colors while keeping the conversation light and interesting with mom. I noticed the little boy was clutching a red teddy bear with Semper Fi embroidered across the front. Obviously, this was symbolic in some way since his dad is a Marine. "Once a Marine, always a Marine," as the saying goes. So, I slowly got up and went into a small storage closet where I safely placed 50 "Hope" Teddy Bears that were donated by a very caring & compassionate organization. I took one for this little guy and presented it to him, so that his other teddy bear would have a friend to keep company with. He was very shy at first, but truly wanted that bear more than anything. He kept it with him the entire time we were together and held it tightly, especially when we were out on the flightline watching his dad and paying our respects. I knelt by him so he would have someone else on his level during this extremely sad moment in his life. Interesting observation I had on the ride back to the center, when I noticed the little boy's Grandmother, clutching "Hope" too. I pray that "Hope" keeps, not only the little red bear company, but this little guy too. I like to think that one day, when he is much older, he'll find this teddy bear "Hope" and remember the significance of it's presence in his life. If not, that's okay too. At least I had the priviledge to comfort him in a very confusing time in his life and offer a little "Hope" for the future. He also wanted to take my snail picture.....glad I stayed within the lines!
Dignified Transfers witnessed (45)
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