The United States of America has seen many wars throughout its history. Whether you supported those wars or not, the people fighting in them deserve our respect. During my time in the Army and while on my deployment to Afghanistan, I developed an extreme respect for the war fighters who have come before me. They didn’t have the aid of superior technology, and often times suffered worse conditions than I could ever imagine, even after my deployment. Returning a fallen soldier back home to his family is a very solemn occasion. It should be dealt with great respect and reverence. Bodies of fallen service members are flown back to the United States aboard commercial flights many times. When it happens aboard a Delta Airlines flight, the airline does something incredibly honorable for these fallen service members. In the video below, the remains of a Korean War soldier are being returned to his family more than 63 years after his death. The second box to come off the plane are partial bone fragments of a solider who was already returned to his family. The amount of respect they show these soldiers is incredible.
The Delta Honor Guard does an amazing thing for these K.I.A. soldiers. As soldier we don’t get giant parades or big ceremonies when we return from war, and we don’t expect it either. That isn’t the reason we do what we do. When someone dies defending their country however, they deserve every honor that we can bestow upon them. Not knowing what has happened to your loved ones can be even harder than finding out they were killed in action. I hope the returning of these soldier remains helps their families find some closure. Rest in peace heroes. Until we meet again in the halls of Valhalla.