A young man from Terrell, Texas was killed in Afganistan recently. His name was Shawn McNabb and he was an army staff Sgt. I have heard news of his death in the local news a couple of times and was sad, but not truly touched by this young man.
This morning I went to work on the CSA farm, Eden's Garden with Marie, the farmer. We were just beginning to sort veggies for shares when she received a phone call from a neighbor. I hear only her side of the conversation that went something like, " Yes I've got a flag. I might have a red white and blue shirt. I'm going to bring a farm volunteer with me." After locating a red sweatshirt for me and a shirt with a flag design on it for Marie, we gathered up a couple of flags and loaded up in the truck.
We we went to gather with many others on an overpass along I20 to observe the funeral procession of Sgt McNabb. I expected a couple of people on the bridge, what I found when we got there was amazing. Fire trucks lining the bridges and people standing side by side holding flags. We only knew one of the dozens of people who lined that bridge, but it didn't matter. I learned later that there were groups on the overpasses in Terrell, Forney, Balch Springs and Mesquite. One of my neighbors was with a group at the beginning in Terrell.
At first we talked and took pictures. When the lights of the squad cars leading the procession came into view, everyone became silent. There were too many vehicles in the procession to count. Many veterans road in the process on motorcycles. Some of those men solemnly waved to us and there were a scattering of salutes.
After the funeral had passed, we were all in tears and hugging complete strangers. It was the most amazing/sad thing I have ever been a part of. I was glad to join this group to honor that young man's service and sacrifice.
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Thank you for your post. Just hearing about the sense of community and appreciation touched me.
ReplyDeleteOh, wow, I'm in tears too, Debbi! Our local paper had a piece last week about a heroic K-9 officer who had died and was being buried as a hero after being recognized for his amazing and selfless service. Like our Shiloh, he was a black German shepherd. What I wouldn't have given to attend his funeral at the official police burial ground, with Shiloh in attendance as a visual reminder for all the other attendees. But I just couldn't trust her to sit quiet and still through the service, especially with all the other K-9 German shepherd officers in attendance! She loves all dogs and wants to interact with them, but she definitely recognizes German shepherds as her family, and reacts very submissively but actively as a puppy responding to dominant adults. I doubted that the human officers present at the funeral would have appreciated that! But I'm hoping, someday, Shiloh can add her beauty, grace, and dignity to a similar funeral.
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful way for your community to honor the sacrifice this young man made for all of us.
ReplyDeleteGreat blog poost
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