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H.R.
on Board
Fallen
Soldier
From Fly Guy, an airline pilot
July 4, 2008
Another
4th of July is here and all across the
nation, millions of us will celebrate in thousands of different ways. Our military members
around the world will
miss out on hometown celebrations, instead, performing the duties
assigned to
them. This story is
in honor of them.
As
a commercial pilot, I too see the effects of
the war in Iraq and Afghanistan. Last
month I showed up to start a trip and was approached by a gate agent. “Captain, good morning, I
wanted to inform
you that we have H.R. on this flight”, she said.
H.R. stands for human remains. “Are they military?”, I
asked. “Yes”, she
said. “Is there and
escort?”, I asked. “Yes,
I already assigned him a seat”, she
said. “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 with us. “My soldier is on
his way
back to Virginia”, he said. He
proceeded
to answer my questions, but offered no words on his own. I asked him if there was
anything I could do
for him and he said no. I
told him that
he has 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 onboard”, he said. He 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 4 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 bare.
He
had asked the flight attendant if there was 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 he asked me if
there
was anything I could do. “I’m
on it”, I
said. I told him
that I would get back
to him.
Airborne
communication with my company normally
occurs in the form of email 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 who connects you to the telephone of the dispatcher. I was in direct contact
with the
dispatcher. I
explained the situation I
had onboard 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 this 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 planeside. 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 planeside to
watch the
remains 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, “You have 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 of the 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 copilot 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
onboard 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 their 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 the loved one lost.
I
never did see the family. Another
soldier died, another family grieved
and we did what we could. That
is the
way it works sometimes. I
get a call
from the cabin and we work as a team to do what we can.
That day everybody from the flight crew,
to
the operations center, to the 184 passengers onboard, we did what we
could. Many of the
passengers
disembarking thanked me for the announcement I made.
They were just words, I could say them
over
and over again, but nothing I say will bring that soldier back. I respectfully ask that
all of you reflect on
this day and the sacrifices that millions of men and women have made to
ensure
our freedom, safety, and the right to live a good life.
Be
safe,
FlyGuy.
From
the editor: I love getting emails like
this. I also love checking them out with an online search. The version
I got
was slightly different than what you just read, which was originally
posted in
2008 from an airline pilot calling himself “Fly Guy.” I wasn’t able to
track it
any further, but whether it is really true or just a figment of
someone’s
imagination is, in my humble opinion, irrelevant. Similar commentaries
are
typically posted on holidays such as July 4, Memorial Day and Veteran’s
Day.
There is no time that is not the right time to post stories like this.
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