Jim Daly, President of Focus of the Family, recently mentioned a poignant incident he experienced a few years ago while traveling.
Busy businessmen and harried vacationers all paused and became silent in the cabin of a jetliner that had just arrived at the gate of a congested terminal at an International Airport in a major American city.
The captain announced on the PA system that a recently killed U.S. serviceman's remains had been traveling with them throughout the flight and the captain thought it would be meaningful if the passengers waited while the coffin was removed from the cargo section of the plane.
The world stopped moving while 192 important travelers focused together on one man and the ultimate sacrifice he paid so that we might live free.
The crated coffin was gently removed and the travelers didn't care about their stowed away items in the overhead compartment.
Connecting flights were suddenly trivial.
Making sure ground transportation was all set to take someone to a meeting seemed less than secondary to the moment.
It took only a few minutes.
A few tears were shed.
A few salutes were made.
A few prayers were recited.
Amazingly, cell phone calls and texting were at zero level. Not one email was sent.
Flight attendants, crew, and all others on the flight felt almost like they were in church or perhaps at a cemetery like Arlington.
Some claim they heard taps at a distance though no bugler was in sight.
Do you stop everything to remember our fallen heroes?
You should. Because of them we have our families to raise in this increasingly rare air of liberty.
Would you die for our country? They did.
Would you have been part of this unanimous spontaneous tribute of respect for someone that could have been your son or daughter?
I hope your answer is yes.
Make sure it is by pausing and saying thank you.
Today. To a veteran and to a veteran's family.
God Bless America.
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