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The Cub Scout........ .......My last duty station in the Marines was at Charleston Naval Base in South Carolina. As the senior enlisted man of the Guard Detachment my Commanding Officer told me that I was to keep him informed as to the well being and morale of the men. One of the Detachment duties was providing details for funerals of Marine veterans. These details soon become routine and you tend to get immune from the grief normally felt. It was hard to personalize the funerals mostly because they were not known to you. This feeling did not take away from the honor these fallen veterans deserve and we always performed in a professional manner............. ..........The following is an reflection from a young Marines experience as a member of a funeral detail some years ago. As I explained he became immune from the grief but he carried out his duties with military precision and efficiency...... ......."Then we buried the Cub Scout's dad"....... ........"We were told to look sharp, because the next funeral was for a Marine who'd been killed in Vietnam. With the family was a Marine Staff Sergeant, perhaps a buddy, assigned to help. The small crowd of mourners included the young widow and the of the dead Marine, a cub scout in full uniform. He was perhaps eight years old.......When we fired our volleys, the seven rifles making a single crack, people in the crowd began to weep. The rifle fire always seemed to signal how final death was. Then we stood at present arms while our bugler played taps.......While the bugle notes rolled down the hillside and the family wept, the staff sergeant and the cub scout stood at the foot of the casket at rigid attention, saluting the tautly-stretched flag. The contrast between the tall Marine in his dress uniform and the small boy in his blue Cub Scout uniform giving his dad the Cub salute tore at our hearts......And then the boy turned his head slightly, looked up at the Marine, and changed from the cub scout salute to the open-handed Marine salute, honoring his dead father as best he could. And if there is a God, somewhere his dad saw him..........We held our position, but I wasn't the only Marine weeping openly......... ......Finally taps ended, the notes dying out over the sobbing of relatives. The body bearers folded the flag into the traditional triangle and passed it to the staff Sergeant. He presented it to the Cub Scout and saluted. The Cub Scout accepted the American flag from his dad's grave, and sharply returned the salute-Marine style. Slowly the family and friends drifted away, and we marched off. Another funeral was waiting"........."But I've carried that moment burned in my heart for over thirty years"............ .....Robert A. Hall MEd, CAE, SSgt USMC Retired. Former State Senator from Massachusetts ......And a voice came out of heaven, saying, This is my dearly beloved , with whom I am well pleased ........Matthew 3:17 "The cause of America is in a great measure the cause of all mankind."....T. Paine |
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2/17/2010 9:04 am |
".And a voice came out of heaven, saying, This is my dearly beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased ........Matthew 3:17" Requiescat in Pace.....Amen "Think Foto Friday -- it's good for what ails ya!" --- Unknown
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I read this with tears in my eyes! Thanks for sharing it.
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.....Robert A. Hall MEd, CAE, SSgt USMC Retired. Former State Senator from Massachusetts Sadly, the 8 year old did not get to have simple family fun with his father but he learned at an early age that freedom is NOT free. (Some gave their best, but some gave all.) Mr. and Honorable Robert A. Hall did go and serve his country in order that others may enjoy the freedom of America. May we all, who love freedom bow our heads often if not daily in honor of those who did not return. Thank you sir for this post. . The beginning of life, conception..
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2/17/2010 4:05 pm |
What Bluewaterguy said about starphysh's reply . . . . . . DITTO!
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