Displaced Beachbums

A week ago Friday, we attended a Veteran’s Day ceremony which included an award presentation. The Distinguished Service Cross (DSC) was posthumously awarded to SSG Travis Atkins of 2-14 IN. The award  was graciously accepted by his parents and his 12 year old son, Trevor. The DSC is the second highest military award and SSG Atkins earned it on 1 June 2007 when he sacrificed himself by engaging in hand-to-hand combat with a suicide bomber and , in doing so, he saved the lives of his squad members.

I met his parents earlier this year, during Memorial Day weekend, when they were here for a Poker Ride in honor of their son. When FM mentioned SSG Atkins had been awarded the DSC, I told him I thought SSG Atkins’ father would want to have the ceremony here amongst the soldiers his son served with. FM then explained to me the award is usually presented by a Four Star General and sometimes by the President. It’s usually presented at a ceremony at the Pentagon or in the hometown of the soldier.

Turns out, the family chose to accept the award here so the soldiers who served with their son could be present. They also requested the One Star General who attended their son’s funeral. I was so glad they chose to come here because I got a chance to meet Trevor, SSG Atkins’ 12 year old son. He is the most poised 12 year old I’ve ever met. We hosted a dinner for the family and the soldiers who knew SSG Atkins the night before the ceremony and I was very impressed with Trevor. He’s socially comfortable with adults, has a great sense of humor and he carried on detailed conversations with the soldiers.

The next day, at the ceremony, Trevor was seated in front of me and held his head high as they spoke in  detail about how his dad earned such an honor. I was moved to tears when I saw he kept looking over and checking on his grandfather to make sure he was OK.

At the ceremony, his mom said she was glad they chose to have the ceremony at Ft. Drum since when they’re here, they feel closer to their son . She said she kept expecting him to come walking around the corner.

Thank you to all the Veterans past and present!

This nation will remain the land of the free only so long as it is the home of the brave. 

                                          ~by Elmer Davis

Yesterday, we attended the funeral of Private (PVT) Kennie in Maine.

I didn’t know him personally, but FM was asked to say a few words on his behalf and I wanted to come to support FM. The only people I knew at the service were the other soldiers who made the 8.5 hour drive like we did.  The Funeral Home, where the service was held, had a gorgeous view of the rolling hills. I could only imagine how glorious it must have been a few weeks ago when the leaves were still in technicolor reds and yellows.

It was a military service with an Army chaplain presiding. FM said a few words, then the Company Commander spoke and then his Platoon Sergeant had us all in tears but with a few laughs in-between. That’s one thing I’ve come to count on from soldiers, most have a healthy sense of humor and when times are tough, they can make light of almost any situation. There were a few stories about Justin that I’m sure had to be “cleaned up” a little for the audience.  But the important thing is it brought a brief smile to all the faces there.

I knew what to expect because there are traditional military honors done at all military funerals. The casket was carried by the Honor Guard who were all Maine National Guardsmen. The folded flag was presented by a two star General and then there was the 21 gun salute which I forgot to warn Favorite Girl about ~ she jumped and thought someone might get hurt from the bullets. I explained the guns have blanks and we were safe.  At the end, Taps was played. I defy anyone with a heart to get through the playing of Taps at a funeral without at least getting a lump in your throat.

Justin will be honored next week at Ft. Drum with a Army memorial service. I’m already bracing myself for roll call which is the saddest part.  An example of the roll call would go something like this: the First Sergeant (1SGT) will call “PVT Jones” and PVT Jones will answer “Here, First Sergeant”, then the 1SGT calls “PVT Williams” and PVT Williams answers “Here, First Sergeant” and then he calls the name of the deceased which in this case will be “PVT Kennie”, silence. Then he’ll say “PVT Justin Kennie”, silence. Then he’ll say “PVT Justin J. Kennie.”  then only SILENCE…  I’m crying just typing the words.

My heart aches for his mom, dad, family, friends and fellow soldiers. He was obviously very loved and will be missed.

There was a horrific accident here on Sunday night ~ a soldier in FM’s unit was struck and killed by a car as he attempted to take a short cut by crossing the Interstate.  Yes, not a wise decision but, we’ve all made poor choices at sometime in our lives and some of those choices have much higher consequences than others. The soldier was only 21 years old and he was hit by another soldier who is 25 years old. Although there was absolutely no way the driver was at fault, he will forever be changed by the incident.

I could hardly sleep on Sunday; I couldn’t stop thinking about his mom and how Sunday night would be her last peaceful night’s sleep for a long, long time. With a son in the Army, her worries were no doubt for his time in combat but no one expects a tragic accident such as this one.

Please keep the soldier and his family in your prayers.  And say a special prayer for the soldier who accidentally hit him.

Be safe out there!