Chicago Tribune
December 26, 2006
Paying Respect To A Fallen Soldier
On Dec. 3, I was the co-pilot for American Airlines Flight 1904 flying from Chicago to Miami. We were informed at the gate that the remains of Master Sgt. Shawn Richardson would shortly be loaded on our flight for the trip to Miami. He was a 17-year veteran of the United States Air Force and had been killed in the service of our country.
I went down onto the ramp and found the long box appropriately stationed off to the side in a luggage cart. The curtains on the cart were pulled. It was my honor to spend a few moments in prayer with him.
The captain and I finished our preflight duties and then went back down onto the ramp and checked in with the crew chiefs to observe the loading of Master Sgt. Richardson. We departed almost an hour late due to our late arrival into Chicago. We called for push and it was immediately granted. Normally there's a wait. We called ground for taxi and again, immediately granted. Normally there's a wait. We were cleared onto the runway and for an immediate takeoff.
Passing through about 25,000, we were further cleared direct OMN (Ormand Beach), which is the first fix on the arrival into Miami. That's basically a thousand-mile straight line and the most direct clearance I've ever received to Miami. Not a word was ever said, but people were watching out for us.
The flight to and landing in Miami were uneventful, until we went to turn off the runway. The tower asked us to proceed a little farther down where an escort was waiting for us. We did as instructed and a Miami Dade Police cruiser met us on the taxiway. He escorted our American Airlines Boeing 757 to the D terminal. The entire north ramp had been cleared of all aircraft. I'd never seen that either.
As we approached the ramp, we noticed the lights. There were at least a half dozen fire trucks, no less than 15 police cars and countless other vehicles. They were all parked in rows with their lights flashing. As we taxied our aircraft to the gate, the fire trucks saluted our arrival with crossed streams of water shooting over the aircraft. My first seven years of service were in the Air Force Crash Fire Rescue Department. There is no higher salute from the fire department.
We parked the aircraft and shut down. After our checklists, Capt. Jeff Wallace and I went down to the ramp level and observed the unpacking of the casket, then the dressing with a flag. It was accepted by the bearer team, which was composed of members of the Miami Dade Police Department and Air Force Honor Guard. After the "Present arms" order (when all military and former military render salutes and civilians put their hands over their hearts) and the "order arms" order, when the salutes were finished, I noticed our jet. As I looked up from the ramp level, I saw a somber face in every window. Not one of our passengers had moved until our fallen soldier had departed the aircraft.
When the procession left the airport, there were two cruisers in front of the hearse and I have no idea how many behind. It was worthy of a presidential motorcade and a fitting and probably all-too-uncommon show of love and respect for one of our fallen. And in case I haven't mentioned this previously, it was 1:30 a.m. on a Sunday morning (we were almost two hours late). Our reception had probably been waiting for hours and I would bet that most of the people on our ramp were not on the clock.
I was so proud that night. Proud that my fellow citizens on every level worked to get Master Sgt. Richardson to his final repose.
Gary Blied, Pilot, American Airlines, Major, U.S. Air Force (retired), Bridgman, Mich.
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Topic: Paying Respect To A Fallen Soldier (Read 3478 times)