September 19 – “Thank you for your service”

We went to a most unique funeral yesterday.  One of Chris’ cousins died while serving on active duty in the army.  There had already been a military ceremony in Germany.  This one was at his home church. This was the final one that culminated in his burial in the family plot near his home.  It was a most unusual hodgepodge of army men in uniform, church people in their Sunday best, masons in aprons, volunteer fire fighters on their old truck, good friends in their finest blue jeans, and the Patriot Guard on their motorcycles.  All there to honor the memory of Chris’ cousin Tony Auld.

After a mini-sermon from the pastor to introduce the proceedings, a power point of pictures ran to the accompaniment of five different patriotic songs. The pastor then opened the floor to comments from the crowd.  Only one lady stood to speak, but the pastor quickly introduced what turned out to be a stand-up comedian army buddy of Tony’s.  In what was truly the most peculiar part of the service, he told several really funny stories about his exploits with Tony, all laced with what one would consider the “minor” curse words.  The pastor was doing his best to remain engaged in what was going on, but it was obvious that the language really threw him for a loop.  Then, when the guy made use of that most dreaded of all socially unacceptable words, even the most coarse among the crowd were taken aback.  Not something you would expect to hear in church, that’s for sure.  The shock must have shown, too, because almost immediately he back-tracked and apologized.  The stories, though, revealed a real bond between the guy and Tony.  He really must have loved him.   And they did bring some good memories for the family as they nodded knowingly at the exploits, murmuring, “Yep.  That’s Tony.”

The pastor then followed with a sermon about the army of God and the Israelite army.  The story was about the time the Israelites had been fighting all day and some of them had to stay behind at the river to rest while the rest of the troops finished off the battle.  He made the point that “Tony is now resting at the River in the hands of God.”  A bagpipe rendition of Amazing Grace followed, before the military pall bearers moved in with their precision moves.  One guy almost jumped the gun on one of the turns, but he caught himself and joined the others. 

In the parking lot, a sheriff department escort joined the honor guard for the trip to the cemetery.  At the graveside, the rain really began to fall, so people were crowding under the awning as well as the umbrellas of those who had thought ahead.  The military was first in their honor segment, firing off a 21 gun salute and playing taps.  Quite a powerful display that never grows old every time I have seen it.  The flag folding and presentation was handled with precision and grace, although one of the young men was in tears when he walked away.  Then came an array of presentations that we could barely keep up with.  A lady made the first one, and because of the loudness of the rain pelting down on the umbrellas, we never did hear what she was saying.  Next the volunteer fire department of Boling, Texas, of which Tony had been a member, presented his wife with a flag of the department in a flag case.  Very nice touch that I hadn’t seen before.  I’ll have to find out if the Galveston department has a flag, and perhaps include that as a part of what we do as well.  The Patriot Guard made a presentation as well, and the masons then led their portion of the ceremony.  They turned it over to the pastor for a benediction.  He read the 23^rd Psalm, allowing King David to close the ceremony.  In spite of the potpourri of tributes, the ceremony turned out well.  Tony certainly received the honor due one who so effectively served his country and represented his family.

The rain continued, and one of the soldiers escorted us to our car, handing us an umbrella on the way.  Chris tried to get him to join us underneath as it was plenty big enough.  He informed us, however, that it was against regulations for him to stand under an umbrella in uniform.  Wow.  I had never heard that one either.  Pretty impressive.  Once again, I am proud to have had the honor of just being present when a soldier was honored.  “Thank you for your service” always seems so inadequate when you consider the sacrifices made and dangers faced. 

1 Samuel 30:24 – “Who will listen to what you say? The share of the man who stayed with the supplies is to be the same as that of him who went down to the battle. All will share alike.”

Father, walk with Kasie and Karen and all of Tony’s family as they work through their grief.  Amen.