The American flag does not fly because the wind moves past it…… Two hours went by and I had not heard from the dispatcher.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 I saved the return message from the dispatcher and the following is the text: There is a team in place to meet the aircraft’, we were told.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 As we approached our gate, I asked the copilot to tell the ramp controller, we were going to stop short of the gate to make an announcement to the passengers.\u00a0 He did that and the ramp controller said, ‘Take your time.’<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Editor\u2019s Note:\u00a0 Our research found and verified the source from \u201cThe Capitan\u2019s Log\u201d 2002<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cSnopes\u201d found the author and posted the following comment:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI was the pilot and captain of the flight referenced in the post.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Over the years since writing that story, many versions have surfaced, slightly changed to sound more patriotic or religious. My intent in all of my postings has always been to truthfully and simply explain to the general public, the day to day happenings in my job. On that day, the remains of a soldier were loaded into the cargo compartment of my aircraft.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I consider the actions of my crew and I that day to be the same actions any aircrew would have done, faced with similar circumstances.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Unfortunately, too many soldiers were brought home in this manner. We did what we could that day, that\u2019s all.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The American flag does not fly because the wind moves past it……The American flag flies from the last breath of each military member who has died serving it.” AIRLINE CAPTAIN\u00a0 My lead flight attendant came to me and said, “We have an H.R. on this flight.” (H.R. stands for Human Remains.) “Are they military?” I […]\n","protected":false},"author":838,"featured_media":3503,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/veteranshelpnet.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3502"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/veteranshelpnet.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/veteranshelpnet.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/veteranshelpnet.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/838"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/veteranshelpnet.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3502"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/veteranshelpnet.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3502\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3504,"href":"https:\/\/veteranshelpnet.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3502\/revisions\/3504"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/veteranshelpnet.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3503"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/veteranshelpnet.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3502"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/veteranshelpnet.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3502"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/veteranshelpnet.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3502"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
The American flag flies from the last breath of each military member who has died serving it.”
AIRLINE CAPTAIN\u00a0
My lead flight attendant came to me and said, “We have an H.R. 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’ve 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.\u00a0 He was the image of the perfectly dressed\u00a0soldier.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 ‘My soldier is on his way back to Virginia,’ he said.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 The first officer and I got up out of our seats to shake his hand.\u00a0 He left the Flight Deck to find his seat.
We completed our preflight checks, pushed back and performed an uneventful departure.\u00a0 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 also on board’, she said.\u00a0 She then proceeded to tell me that the father, mother, wife and 2-year old daughter were escorting their son, husband, and father home.\u00a0 The family was upset because they were unable to see the container that the soldier was in before we left.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n
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.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 He had asked the flight attendant if there was anything that could be done to allow them to see him upon our arrival.\u00a0 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 was anything I could do. ‘I’m on it’, I said.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 I decided to bypass this system and contact my flight dispatcher directly on a secondary radio.\u00a0 There is a radio operator in the operations control center who connects you to the telephone of the dispatcher. I was in direct contact with the dispatcher.\u00a0 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..<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n
‘Captain, sorry it has taken so long to get back to you.\u00a0 There is policy on this now, and I had to check on a few things.\u00a0 Upon your arrival a dedicated escort team will meet the aircraft..\u00a0 The team will escort the family to the ramp and plane side..\u00a0 A van will be used to load the remains with a secondary van for the family.\u00a0
The family will be taken to their departure area and escorted into the terminal, where the remains can be seen on the ramp.\u00a0 It is a private area for the family only.\u00a0 When the connecting aircraft arrives, the family will be escorted onto the ramp and plane side to watch the remains being loaded for the final leg home.
Captain, most of us here in flight control are veterans.\u00a0 Please pass our condolences on to the family.\u00a0 Thanks.
I sent a message back, telling flight control thanks for a good job.\u00a0 I printed out the message and gave it to the lead flight attendant to pass on to the father.\u00a0 The lead flight attendant was very thankful and told me, ‘You have no idea how much this will mean to them.’
Things started getting busy for the descent, approach and landing.\u00a0 After landing, we cleared the runway and taxied to the ramp area.\u00a0 The ramp is huge with 15 gates on either side of the alleyway.\u00a0 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.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n
I stopped the aircraft and set the parking brake.\u00a0 I pushed the public address button and said:\u00a0 ‘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.\u00a0 His name is Private XXXXXX, a soldier who recently lost his life.\u00a0 Private XXXXXX s under your feet in the cargo hold.\u00a0 Escorting him today is Army Sergeant XXXXXX.\u00a0 Also, on board are his father, mother, wife, and daughter.\u00a0 Your entire flight crew is asking for all passengers to remain in their seats to allow the family to exit the aircraft first.\u00a0 Thank you.’
We continued the turn to the gate, came to a stop and started our shutdown procedures.\u00a0 A couple of minutes later I opened the cockpit door.\u00a0 I found the two forward flight attendants crying, something you just do not see.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 Moments later, more passengers joined in\u00a0and soon the entire aircraft was clapping.\u00a0 Words of ‘God Bless You’,\u00a0I’m sorry, thank you, be proud, and other kind words were uttered to\u00a0the family as they made their way down the aisle and out of the airplane.\u00a0 They were escorted down to the ramp to finally be with\u00a0their loved one.
Many of the passengers disembarking thanked me for the announcement I\u00a0had made.\u00a0 They were just words, I told them, I could say them over\u00a0and 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\u00a0that millions of our men and women have made to ensure our freedom and\u00a0safety in these United States of America.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n