A Church of God chaplain tells the story of presiding over a ceremony honoring fallen soldiers on their final trip home for burial.
By Chaplain, Captain, Matthew Boyd, USAir Force
Chaplain Boyd
The vans arrived at the aircraft and lined up in formation, surrounded by airmen, soldiers, sailors and marines who were present to honor the fallen warriors. The formation moved in unison as the commander called all to attention. With the command of “present arms,” slowly our salute brought a wave of emotion – some stood with tears streaming down their faces while others displayed a stoic pride. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a wounded soldier on crutches struggle to stand in honor of his fallen friends. With sharp professionalism, the honor guard removes each casket and carries our fallen warriors through the columns of honor. We stood there for an hour, motionless, as the flag-draped caskets passed. Never had our base seen so many casualties in a single day. Someone later mentioned that this was a common occurrence every day in Vietnam.
After the last hero had been placed aboard the aircraft, our final salute is given. As the commander gave the order to fall out, we all boarded the aircraft and bowed our heads. Shoulder to shoulder, we stood along the inside walls of the C-17 aircraft, with everyone facing the flag-draped caskets. I took my place next to the commander at the head of the caskets and rendered our prayer aloud. We prayed for God’s help, for the families and friends of our fallen warriors, for us who remain to carry on the fight for freedom and for peace. With our prayer ended, our Catholic priest knelt in prayerful reverence and laid his hand on a casket. As we all departed the aircraft in silence, he made the sign of the cross.
Walking back to the terminal, a young soldier commented to me, “Chaplain, I will never be the same.” The words of Jesus flooded my mind that early morning, “Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.” I thank God for the honor to participate in receiving and sending our fallen warriors home.
Chaplain Boyd is currently deployed to Southwest Asia and is the chaplain for Combined Forces Special Operations Command. He is a graduate of Lee University and the Church of God Pentecostal Theological Seminary.