Subject: Thoughts at a funeral for a stranger
From: "matheson"
Date: 7/3/03 3:28 PM Pacific Daylight Time
Message-id:

Funny thing about that, Art.

I buried a lot of friends in my 26 + years in the Air Force, and always felt
that the turn out was more for the living than for the dead. There is
something about the military fraternity that does that to you. Read the
first chapter of "The Right Stuff".

Now, I play bagpipes, and so I am requested to play at a LOT of funerals.
Many, if not most are for military veterans, and only one has been for
someone I knew personally. I feel I have to do it, because the family, the
friends and the "community" all want some feeling of closure.

Last week I rode to an out of town funeral with the Honor Guard from our
local AF base. Interesting to hear them talk about it. They do five, six
funerals a week, and they knew none of the deceased, yet they show up, not
because they have to, but because they are proud of their Air Force, and
know that they are carrying on a tradition.

It matters not the name of your gunner, only that you were there, just as
someone will be there for all the rest.

--

You are of course correct. It is matter of tradition and the honor of the
corps.
But I always thought that if it were I Iying there I would only want the men
of my squadron at my graveside. My friends, The men I flew with in close
formation.The men I went to town with, went on leave with, spent long hours
chattng with, shared dreams and ambitions with. At least those were my feelings
at the time. And they persist to this day.

Arthur Kramer
Visit my WW II B-26 website at:
http://www.coastcomp.com/artkramer