Back in October 2013, I boarded a Delta Air Lines flight that I wasn’t originally supposed to be on. I hadn’t been feeling well, so I postponed my flight by a day. Little did I know that this simple change of plans would put me on what would become the most emotional flight of my life. It’s now 13 years later and I still think about that experience often, especially around Veterans Day. Here’s what made this flight so unforgettable.
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Delta Flight 2255 from Atlanta to Los Angeles seemed like an ordinary flight, with the exception of Candy, who was one of the most loving flight attendants I’ve ever encountered. Besides using her Southern charm to quickly defuse just about any situation, she began her welcome announcement by thanking the handful of uniformed service members on board for serving our country. Her heartfelt message was followed by applause from the passengers and served as a reminder that so many of the freedoms we enjoy are made possible by the sacrifices of the brave men and women who serve.
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But this transcontinental flight turned out to be anything but ordinary. About 45 minutes before landing, the captain came over the PA system and explained that we were transporting a fallen soldier home. There was a military escort on board and he asked everyone to remain seated for a few minutes after arriving at the gate so the military personnel could exit first. He also told us not to be alarmed if we saw fire trucks waiting for our arrival because Los Angeles would be honoring the fallen soldier with a water cannon salute. The cabin went quiet as everyone absorbed what he had just told us.
A few minutes after touchdown, we did indeed receive a water cannon salute, something I’d previously only experienced on happy occasions like inaugural flights. But this time was different. As the water streamed down the aircraft windows, it looked like tears. Passengers inside the airport must have wondered what was happening when they saw our plane pull into gate 69A with a full police and fire escort, both in front and behind the aircraft.
I was sitting on the left side of the plane and later realized that the fallen soldier’s family was waiting off to the right, along with members of the United States Army Honor Guard. These service members perform ceremonial duties, including providing military funeral honors for fallen comrades. Seeing the military personnel waiting alongside the family made the significance of our arrival even more apparent.
When the aircraft door opened, another military officer addressed the escort, who was standing at attention. The officer then stepped onto the plane and spoke to all of us passengers. He said, “I just addressed the escort. It is a sworn oath to bring home, to the family, the fallen.” He paused for a moment before adding, “Today you all did that, you are all escorts, escorts of the heart.” He thanked us for our time and walked off the plane.
As you can imagine, everyone was silent and no one got up. Not even that person from the back row who always seems determined to be the first one off the plane. I’m sure most of us had meteor-sized lumps in our throats and tears in our eyes, just as I did. I’ve flown millions of miles over the years and experienced countless memorable moments in the air, but I had never experienced anything quite like this.
It only got more emotional when I deplaned. Instead of rushing to baggage claim or hurrying to catch connecting flights, many passengers stopped at the terminal windows to witness something truly moving. Outside, the Honor Guard and the fallen soldier’s family were waiting as LAX baggage handlers and military personnel carefully removed the flag-draped casket from the cargo hold. It was an incredibly humbling scene and one that I’ll never forget.
I watched as a woman, who I believe may have been the soldier’s mother or wife, slowly approached the casket. A few other family members stood nearby, wrapped in blankets, while members of the Honor Guard stood at attention. I couldn’t begin to imagine what that family was going through or how difficult it must have been to wait for their loved one to come home under such heartbreaking circumstances.
As soon as I saw the woman reach out and place her hand on the casket, I walked away.
That was more than I could bear to watch. Even today, 13 years later, I get emotional thinking about that moment and the extraordinary sacrifice that family made.
A flight I will never forget
What began as an ordinary flight became the most extraordinary flight of my life. I’ve traveled all over the world and taken thousands of flights, but this experience stands apart from all the others. It was a powerful reminder that behind every military uniform is a person with family and friends who love them, and that the sacrifices made by our service members affect far more people than we sometimes realize.
I’m grateful to the Delta crew, the military escort, the Honor Guard and everyone at LAX who helped ensure that this fallen soldier was brought home with the dignity and respect they deserved. I’m especially grateful to the men and women who serve our country and to the families who support them, often making sacrifices of their own.
Veterans Day is a time to recognize and thank all those who have served in the United States Armed Forces, while Memorial Day specifically honors those who died in military service. Although this experience involved a fallen soldier, it reminds me every Veterans Day of the courage, commitment and sacrifice of our military members and their families.
To all our veterans and active-duty service members, thank you for your service. And to the families who have lost loved ones while serving our country, please know that their sacrifices are not forgotten.
Thirteen years later, I can still hear that military officer’s words: “You are all escorts, escorts of the heart.” I’ll carry those words, and the memory of that flight, with me for the rest of my life.
Johnny’s note
When I first shared this story and video in 2013, I had no idea how many people it would touch. Over the years, I’ve received thousands of comments and emails from readers, including veterans, military families and people who have experienced similar homecomings. One of the most impactful was a comment left on Yahoo by a reader named Indiana Joan. Her words have stayed with me, just as this flight has.
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You told a beautiful story, one that should move most of us to tears and to be proud of what our country stands for…it is a pity that your comments about “Foreigners” pretending they don’t understand English took away what you were doing. Racism and Bigotry is one of the many things we should not tolerate…many have died fighting it.
THanks for the comments but I never said the word “Foreigners”.
what would have preferred? Boyz from da hood? maybe the little old lady with the cane and hearing aides? Perhaps you’ve never been in the situation where a foreign national didn’t understand our language and gets up to leave or push ahead in a line, even when the most patient person would try to explain what was asked. Get a grip on reality and quit trying to be so politically correct.
Earlier this year, I was one of the people watching out the window of the Cleveland airport as the honor guard escorted a fallen soldier off a plane. I had a lump in my throat and tears in my eyes then same as when I read JohnnyJet’s message.
Incredible story, and so powerfully written. I can’t even imagine the feelings the family must have been having. Thanks for sharing this.
MIC propaganda.
and what was he trying to solicit? get a grip.
Touching story. Thank you for sharing. This is as close to war most of us get. This experience should be the lede on national news. My sympathies to the family, and heartfelt gratitude to the brave soldier.
You read a story such as this and without question, it manages to touch your heart. You experience these words that are written as if you are actually there, seeing this solemn act unfold in front of you. You feel the pride of the escort and carry the weight of the task that they are given and you experience the pain that the family must feel as they see their son or daughter arrive home. The pain that the family feels is one that we, at that same moment, feel and we tend to look at life in a different way once you see this. I salute you fallen soldier, I thank you for your service and ultimate sacrifice. May you rest in peace and find glory in the kingdom of God.
This broke my heart.
Thank you so much for sharing your experience. Your writing transported me into that airline, seeing and experiencing the story unfold. Awesome writing. Salutes to all our heroes without whom today will not be the same.
I am glad the tide of respect has turned. My 93 year old dad had on his Cap from the Louisville, his Navy ship, and a young lady came up to him in a parking lot and hugged him and thanked him for his service. He was dumbfounded. When I was in college, people spit on soldiers returning from Viet Nam, my peers. God bless our service men and women.
I am a mother of a soldier currently serving in Afghanistan. This deeply touched my heart and soul. Thank you to each of you on that plane for your respect and heartfelt consideration for this fallen soldier and his family by blood and in arms. I am sure none who boarded that plane intended to be a part of such a sad and final journey. God speed soldier!
Amen.
I read your article in the NYDN today. Very moving and emotional. I’m a daughter of a fallen soldier whose return was likewise in the same manner as this soldier. Thank you for sharing your heartfelt ‘moment in time’ experience as a passenger aboard a flight with one of our bravest! Tacy
I am ex military. it breaks my heart every time I hear or read a story like this. They deserve every honor that we can bestow upon them