Burial at sea

[Pugs]

http://op-for.com/

Pretty moving. I didn't bother to check and see if posted before. If it has, suck it up.

 

[scoolbubba]

I just found out I lost a good friend from high school this past week in Afghanistan, a guy I played sports with, hung out with, joked with, fought with, and burned through girls with. I'm going to miss him greatly. I can't make it to his funeral, but I think about him all the time down here.

Thanks for posting that, Pugs.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/01/30/AR2010013002160.html

Semper Fi, Dave.

 

[EM1toNFO]

nice find. Touching read.

 

[Bevo16]

Last Saturday a Navy Corpsman was killed in Afghanistan. His family lived in a Memphis suburb, and the MidWest Casualty office could not find a trained CACO. Since I am the Casualty Operations Officer and I am the CACO program manager world-wide, and the clock was ticking, I volunteered my services to make the notification. Two hours later I am at the door with a Chaplain. Without a doubt, the next hour and a half was the most difficult experience of my career. The sound the mother made when she comprehended that her son was dead can not be replicated, and it still burns my ears. Total grief, total shock, total loss, all rolled into one sound.

I can say with total certainty that the Corpsman died a hero, and that fact does give the family some comfort. Even though I deal with death every day, this was the first time I had to deal with a family face to face. This was the only one of those that I have in me. I can't do it again.

 

[Steve Wilkins]

We did quite a few burials at sea while I was on the VALLEY FORGE. Always very moving.

 

[BACONATOR]

Last Saturday a Navy Corpsman was killed in Afghanistan. His family lived in a Memphis suburb, and the MidWest Casualty office could not find a trained CACO. Since I am the Casualty Operations Officer and I am the CACO program manager world-wide, and the clock was ticking, I volunteered my services to make the notification. Two hours later I am at the door with a Chaplain. Without a doubt, the next hour and a half was the most difficult experience of my career. The sound the mother made when she comprehended that her son was dead can not be replicated, and it still burns my ears. Total grief, total shock, total loss, all rolled into one sound.

I can say with total certainty that the Corpsman died a hero, and that fact does give the family some comfort. Even though I deal with death every day, this was the first time I had to deal with a family face to face. This was the only one of those that I have in me. I can't do it again.

I can say without reservation or shame that I well up whenever I read an account of a CACO on a house-call. I can't imagine how difficult it is, nor do I have any desire to experience such anguish. I hold CACO duty in the highest regard and respect anyone who undertakes such a difficult task.

 

[jtmedli]

'A veteran is someone who, at one point, wrote a blank check made payable to
'The United States of America' for an amount of 'up to and including their life.'

That is Honor, and there are way too many people in this country who no longer understand it.'

....absolutely incredible statement!!