This was posted on my Facebook paige. Sorry I don't have the
Link. This flight crew was simply amazing what they did for this
fallen soildier and his family.

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've 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 also on board', she said. She then proceeded to tell me that the father, mother, wife and 2-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 attendants 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.

Airborne communication with my company normally occurs in the form of e-mail like messages. I decided to bypass this system and contact my flight dispatcher directly on a secondary radio. There is a radio operator in the operations control center who connects you to the telephone of the dispatcher. I was in direct contact with the dispatcher. I explained the situation I had on board with the family and what it was 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 copilot 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 a special 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, every passenger 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 of '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.

I respectfully ask that all of you reflect on this event and the sacrifices that millions of our men and women have made to ensure our freedom and safety in these United States of AMERICA.

Very touching story. Wish there are more flight crews like yours. And a salute to the passengers. This is the way flying ought to be. If people are always on their best behaviors, flying would be much more pleasant.

[Edited 2014-10-28 14:27:15]

Wow, touching story that honestly made my afternoon. Thanks for posting, mia305!

Touching story. Thanks for sharing.

May God bless our soldiers and may God bless the United States of America.

I do not blindly support US, or indeed UK govt policy.

That said, thanks for posting this.

Hopefully, less squabbles about rules, and which is the correct forum.

Hello all,

Having several posts on the knee-blocker device or complaints of airline liveries, or blasting flight crews for one reason or another are allowed and condoned, but the actions of this captain and his crew have drawn the complaint of a company of one is downright silly. To me, it fits the rules of the road on this forum and has zero to do with the military aviation side. It's nice to see the pax comply with your request and reacted the way they did. An extended thanks to your flight crew and especially to you Captain for showing compassion and humanity. You and your crew might feel you didn't do much to help but I'm sure the soldier's family did appreciate it and will remember the kindness for a long time to come...

Is this a true story? I ask only because it seems too good to be true to be just a story being passed around Facebook.

Looks like it is true

http://www.snopes.com/politics/military/pilot.asp

Quoting smokeybandit (Reply 18): Looks like it is truehttp://www.snopes.com/politics/military/pilot.asp

At least they were smart enough to label the story 'politics/military' . I'm still neutral, it just doesn't belong in a ""civil "" aviation forum, we have an other forum for that.

What a beautfiul story! We need more of them! Thanks so much for sharing

Quoting smokeybandit (Reply 18): Looks like it is true http://www.snopes.com/politics/military/pilot.asp

Why isn't the airline involved identified? I'm always suspicious of those types of stories when information like that (or the date and location) is missing.

Sounds like a bunch of nonsense. How self indulgent to say that I did this I did that, big whoop, other than a couple of PAs what exactly was 'amazing' about the whole thing?

Sounds like a bit of jackanory to me!

Quoting mia305 (Thread starter): I respectfully ask that all of you reflect on this event and the sacrifices that millions of our men and women have made to ensure our freedom and safety in these United States of AMERICA.

Quoting Miami (Reply 3): May God bless our soldiers and may God bless the United States of America.

It's a touching story (if true), but sentences like these above can hardly be shared by all A.net members. Can you imagine a similar post with a similar ending by a member from Russia? Or from Iran? Would that be deemed acceptable?

Reminds me of the movie Taking Chance, which is based on a true story.

Quoting baexecutive (Reply 11): Sounds like a bunch of nonsense. How self indulgent to say that I did this I did that, big whoop, other than a couple of PAs what exactly was 'amazing' about the whole thing? Sounds like a bit of jackanory to me!

Why would that be? I'm sure the same thing happens every day, somewhere. On the ground, for example, in ATL, DL has an honor guard that does this sort of thing all the time. It's called "showing respect" to those that have fought and died for us.

Quoting UALWN (Reply 12): It's a touching story (if true), but sentences like these above can hardly be shared by all A.net members. Can you imagine a similar post with a similar ending by a member from Russia? Or from Iran? Would that be deemed acceptable?

I might call it acceptable if I thought they even did something like this. Anyone have any idea whether they do or not?

Quoting mayor (Reply 14): I might call it acceptable

Really? Do you think a post 3/4 of which consisted of the sentence "May Allah be with the Irani soldiers and may Allah bless the Islamic Republic of Iran" be acceptable here? Because this is what I was talking about:

Quoting Miami (Reply 3): May God bless our soldiers and may God bless the United States of America.

Me neither.

This does come off as a little too self congratulatory, starting with the title. Seems more than the flight crew were involved. A few too many 'I's and not enough 'we's. Maybe it's just the style of the poster, but it made me uncomfortable. And, without splitting hairs, shouldn't a captain know that there are H.R. onboard and not have to wait for an FA to advise him? And why wasn't he advised the family was onboard in his conversation with the military escort?

What about policemen or firefighters who died while doing their job, do they usually get similar treatment in the US? If not then I think something is seriously wrong.

Quoting Anrigu (Reply 16): And, without splitting hairs, shouldn't a captain know that there are H.R. onboard and not have to wait for an FA to advise him?

The original blog by the captain ( http://acaptainslog.blogspot.com/2008/07/fallen-soldier_04.html ) is slightly different than the quote...the gate agent informed him about the H.R. And the entire blog sounds a little less self-serving.

[Edited 2014-10-29 07:57:12]

Quoting RetiredWeasel (Reply 18): Quoting Anrigu (Reply 16): And, without splitting hairs, shouldn't a captain know that there are H.R. onboard and not have to wait for an FA to advise him? The original blog by the captain ( http://acaptainslog.blogspot.com/2008/07/fallen-soldier_04.html ) is slightly different than the quote...the gate agent informed him about the H.R. And the entire blog sounds a little less self-serving.

This thing has been around for quite awhile, now..........it's bound to have been changed, slightly with each re-telling.

Quoting pvjin (Reply 17): What about policemen or firefighters who died while doing their job, do they usually get similar treatment in the US? If not then I think something is seriously wrong.

Yes, in their own way, they are honored when they've died. You just don't see it on A.net because it usually doesn't apply to these forums, except maybe the non-aviation forum.

FW: FW: FW: FW: FW:

We on a.net can do better than posting these stories that rely on a blog post by someone claiming to be a pilot.

If you wanted to congratulate each other for the work the military does, then post this in the military section.

Quoting B747400ERF (Reply 20): then post this in the military section.

I think this suggestion has some merit.

Quoting B747400ERF (Reply 20):

Quoting readytotaxi (Reply 21):

Except that, this is a civil aviation crew on a civil airline. Should we also remove all references to DL's (and other airlines') honor guards, just because they are honoring those that have fallen in service?

Can anyone from the States explain to us non-Americans the all-American reverence for armed force officials?
I don't mean to be critical. I am just trying to understand.

From news outlets, it seems that if you are a soldiers, first-class passengers will go out of their way to give up their seat, while TSA officials, who are also supposedly "defending the nation", get treated like sex offenders. This puzzles me.

It was somewhat presumptuous to assume that the family wanted some sort of public display on the airplane. Although in our age of over-sharing (thanks, reality TV) it may seem incredible, some people actually prefer to grieve in private and the attention being called to this family may have been quite uncomfortable for them. The patriotic motivation was admirable, I'm just not sure the crew needed to take it as far as they did.

Quoting mayor (Reply 22): Except that, this is a civil aviation crew on a civil airline. Should we also remove all references to DL's (and other airlines') honor guards, just because they are honoring those that have fallen in service?

This is a questionable story based on a blog post posted by a user who appears to be a member of the military. In my untrained eye this looks like military propaganda. If it is military related, it should be in the military section.

Quoting 777stl (Reply 26): Is there something wrong with having a little national pride?

This is not about national pride, this is about military propaganda in a civilian aviation forum.

The actions the military is taking are very controversial in the world, this is not about pride this is about having respect for everyone. If you want to honor the military then have fun in the military section of these forums.

[Edited 2014-10-29 13:25:53]

Quoting 777stl (Reply 26): Don't like it? Don't post here here. Better yet, don't click the thread.

Yeah good luck with that. The thread title is pure click-bait, it's made to draw people here. If longer titles were possible, it would probably say "This was a once-in-a-lifetime moment for the airline captain. What he did next will move you to tears!"

Quoting B747400ERF (Reply 27): The actions the military is taking are very controversial in the world, this is not about pride this is about having respect for everyone. If you want to honor the military then have fun in the military section of these forums.

Or non-av. Or better yet, your own Facebook feed.

Quoting VCEflyboy (Reply 23): From news outlets, it seems that if you are a soldiers, first-class passengers will go out of their way to give up their seat

From one side you have this hero-like admiration of military personnel, especially if they travel wearing their uniform. Then you see random veterans from old forgotten wars sleeping under the freeways at night or being unemployed because nobody wants to hire them. Such a contrast, I can never understand it.

Quoting AirCalSNA (Reply 24): It was somewhat presumptuous to assume that the family wanted some sort of public display on the airplane.

This is precisely why I think this story has been embellished somewhat (Snopes or not). I would hope that a flight crew would not call attention to a passenger in this situation unless the passenger(s) themselves approved.

The incident seems to have occurred in 2008 and to have first been aired in an alleged pilot's blog in July of that year. The logic/need for it to come to the fore some six years (plus) later is not immediately clear.

This maudlin writing doesn't appeal to me at all - in fact I can feel my shoulder rising with embarrassment at what I read as tear-jerking sentimentality induced by the story and the style of writing. But that's just my view - others have, and like me are entitled to, a contrary view.

The deceased and his family were properly treated by the crew of the aircraft of whom the author of the piece was apparently Captain.
Based on what I've read, I disagree that the crew was "simply amazing".
They did their job.
Perhaps there were aspects which were done a little more than might have been "expected", but fundamentally, they did their job.
They were humane and respectful. The other passengers likewise.
The crew's actions reflected well on themselves and on the airline.
But this is little more than is expected of ANY airline or ANY crew in similar circumstances and irrespective of the employment of the deceased. It's the type of treatment which any of us would like to receive if we were bringing a deceased colleague or family member home for burial, is it not?
Soldiers worldwide put their lives on the line to greater or lesser extents to preserve freedom - or a native version/interpretation thereof - in their own areas of operations, every day.
One tragedy is that many never come home alive.

Should the post be here or where? Does it really matter?
I have no particular opinion as to where it should be placed, once the general aviation theme of this site isn't allowed to become swamped with funereal, political, religious or other debate of tenuous relevance to the main subject.

[Edited 2014-10-29 14:17:37]

Nothing wrong to be patriotic and having national pride, but there is time and place for it. An international civil aviation forum sure is not one of them, despite that it involved a civil airplane.

Quoting p201055r (Reply 30): The logic/need for it to come to the fore some six years (plus) later is not immediately clear.

The logic is very clear. I searched on Google for the op's name, mia305 and what do ya know, a generic twitter account with a picture of a kid in military uniform. It's public relations for the military recruiters. This topic should be removed for propaganda/advertising or moved to the military sub forum.

Quoting VCEflyboy (Reply 23): Can anyone from the States explain to us non-Americans the all-American reverence for armed force officials? I don't mean to be critical. I am just trying to understand.

Apparently the same is done in your country:

http://globalnews.ca/news/1633155/fa...to-make-final-journey-home-friday/