Last night upon landing at Austin's Bergstrom airport from Atlanta (we flew from Amsterdam to Atlanta first), as we taxied from the runway, the captain came on the intercom and asked all passengers to wait a few moments before disembarking to allow for the honor guard accompanying a "fallen soldier" to disembark first.
Immediately I understood why I had seen flashing lights on the apron as we approached to land, two fire trucks created a water arch for the aircraft to pass through on its way to the gate, and on the tarmac was a full honor guard, hearse, military personnel and the soldier's family.
Though most passengers waited as requested and then disembarked, I could not leave my seat. I felt that not watching the entire proceeding would somehow be wrong, dishonorable.
As the cargo door opened, I saw at least one female member of the family collapse in agony.
I know that this is an occurrence that happens almost daily still at airports across the country, yet it is never televised, as the flag draped coffins during the Vietnam war most definitely were.
I tried googling for more information, but even several searches result in nothing informational
Maybe if we put these scenes back on primetime TV, citizens would pay more attention to what is really going on with these illegal wars and the propagandistic way in which they are reported on by the compromised media.
No wonder newspapers are selling for pennies on the dollar.
People are figuring out how full of shit they really are.
[update] From my military sources I received the following information:
Spc. Anthony R. Maddox, 22, of Port Arthur, Texas, died July 22, in Landstuhl, Germany, of a non-combat related incident that occurred in Andar, Afghanistan. The incident is under investigation.
He was assigned to the 10th Brigade Support Battalion, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, Fort Drum, N.Y.
The 'non-combat related incident' is code for suicide
This is even sadder than I thought.