A MOVING STORY, WORTHY OF YOUR ATTENTION – AT 11:39 A.M. ET:  This was forwarded to us by family friend Meryl Resnick:

From an airline captain:

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 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.  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 still with us.    

"My  soldier is on his way back to Virginia,"  he said.    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.   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 on board," she  said.   She then proceeded to tell me that the father, mother, wife and two-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 four 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  bear.   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 attendant's voice when she asked me if there was anything  I  could do.  "I'm on  it," I said.   I  told her that I would get back to her.  
 
I decided to  contact my flight dispatcher  directly.   I explained the situation  I had on board with the family and what 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 the 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  plane side.  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 plane side 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  co-pilot  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 aspecial 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, on board 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,  all passengers 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.    Moments  later more passengers  joined in and  soon the entire aircraft was  clapping.   Words  like  "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  their  loved one.     

Many of  the passengers disembarking thanked me for  the  announcement I  had made.      They  were just words, I  told them,  I  could  say them over  and over again,  but nothing I say will bring back that  brave soldier.

December 26, 2010