SMR
03-14-2010, 06:58 AM
> He writes: My lead flight attendant came to me and
> said, "We have an H.R. on this flight."
> (H.R. stands for human remains.) "Are they military?" I asked.
> 'Yes', she said.
> 'Is there an escort?' I asked.
> 'Yes, I already assigned him a seat'.
> 'Would you please tell him to come to the flight deck.
> You can board him early," I said..
>
> A short while later, a young army sergeant entered the
> flight deck. He was the image of the perfectly dressed
> soldier. He introduced himself and I asked him about his
> soldier The escorts of these fallen soldiers talk about them
> as if they are still alive and still with us.
>
> 'My soldier is on his way back to Virginia ', he said.
> He proceeded to answer my questions, but offered no words on
> his own..
>
> I asked him if there was anything I could do for him and
> he said no. I told him that he had the toughest job in the
> military and that I appreciated the work that he does for the
> families of our fallen soldiers The first officer and I got up
> out of our seats to shake his hand He left the flight deck to
> find his seat.
>
> We completed our preflight checks, pushed back and
> performed an uneventful departure. About 30 minutes into our
> flight I received a call from the lead flight attendant in the
> cabin. 'I just found out the family of the soldier we are
> carrying, is on board', he said. He then proceeded to tell me
> that the father, mother, wife and 2-year old daughter were
> escorting their son, husband, and father home. The family was
> upset because they were unable to see the container that the
> soldier was in before we left. We were on our way to a major
> hub at which the family was going to wait four hours for the
> connecting flight home to Virginia .
>
> The father of the soldier told the flight attendant that
> knowing his son was below him in the cargo compartment and
> being unable to see him was too much for him and the family to
> bear. He had asked the flight attendant if there was anything
> that could be done to allow them to see him upon our arrival.
> The family wanted to be outside by the cargo door to watch the
> soldier being taken off the airplane.. I could hear the
> desperation in the flight attendants voice when he asked me if
> there was anything I could do.. 'I'm on it', I said. I told him
> that I would get back to him.
>
> Airborne communication with my company normally occurs
> in the form of e-mail like messages. I decided to bypass this
> system and contact my flight dispatcher directly on a secondary
> radio. There is a radio operator in the operations control
> center who connects you to the telephone of the dispatcher. I
> was in direct contact with the dispatcher. I explained the
> situation I had on board with the family and what it was the
> family wanted. He said he understood and that he would get
> back to me.
>
> Two hours went by and I had not heard from the
> dispatcher. We were going to get busy soon and I needed to
> know what to tell the family. I sent a text message asking for
> an update. I saved the return message from the dispatcher and
> this following is the text:
>
> 'Captain, sorry it has taken so long to get back to you.
> There is policy on this now and I had to check on a few things.
> Upon your arrival a dedicated escort team will meet the
> aircraft. The team will escort the family to the ramp and
> plane side. A van will be used to load the remains with a
> secondary van for the family. The family will be taken to
> their departure area and escorted into the terminal where the
> remains can be seen on the ramp. It is a private area for the
> family only. When the connecting aircraft arrives, the family
> will be escorted onto the ramp and plane side to watch the
> remains being loaded for the final leg home. Captain, most of
> us here in flight control are veterans. Please pass our
> condolences on to the family. Thanks.'
>
> I sent a message back telling flight control thanks for
> a good job. I printed out the message and gave it to the lead
> flight attendant to pass on to the father. The lead flight
> attendant was very thankful and told me, 'You have no idea how
> much this will mean to them.'
>
> Things started getting busy for the descent, approach
> and landing. After landing, we cleared the runway and taxied
> to the ramp area. The ramp is huge with 15 gates on either
> side of the alleyway. It is always a busy area with aircraft
> maneuvering every which way to enter and exit. When we entered
> the ramp and checked in with the ramp controller, we were told
> that all traffic was being held for us..
>
> 'There is a team in place to meet the aircraft', we
> were told. It looked like it was all coming together, then I
> realized that once we turned the seat belt sign off, everyone
> would stand up at once and delay the family from getting off
> the airplane. As we approached our gate, I asked the copilot to
> tell the ramp controller we were going to stop short of the
> gate to make an announcement to the passengers. He did that
> and the ramp controller said, 'Take your time'
>
> I stopped the aircraft and set the parking brake. I
> pushed the public address button and said, 'Ladies and
> gentleman, this is your Captain speaking I have stopped short
> of our gate to make a special announcement. We have a
> passenger on board who deserves our honor and respect His Name
> is Private XXXXXX, a soldier who recently lost his life.
> Private XXXXXX is under your feet in the cargo hold. Escorting
> him today is Army Sergeant XXXXXXX. Also, on board are his
> father, mother, wife, and daughter. Your entire flight crew
> is asking for all passengers to remain in their seats to allow
> the family to exit the aircraft first. Thank you.'
>
> We continued the turn to the gate, came to a stop and
> started our shutdown procedures. A couple of minutes later I
> opened the cockpit door. I found the two forward flight
> attendants crying, something you just do not see. I was told
> that after we came to a stop, every passenger on the aircraft
> stayed in their seats, waiting for the family to exit the aircraft.
>
> When the family got up and gathered their things, a
> passenger slowly started to clap his hands. Moments later more
> passengers joined in and soon the entire aircraft was clapping.
> Words of 'God Bless You', I'm sorry, thank you, be proud, and
> other kind words were uttered to the family as they made their
> way down the aisle and out of the airplane. They were escorted
> down to the ramp to finally be with their loved one.
>
> Many of the passengers disembarking thanked me for the
> announcement I had made. They were just words, I told them, I
> could say them over and over again, but nothing I say will
> bring back that brave soldier.
>
> I respectfully ask that all of you reflect on this event
> and the sacrifices that millions of our men and women have made
> to ensure our freedom and safety in these United States of
> America .
6348
> said, "We have an H.R. on this flight."
> (H.R. stands for human remains.) "Are they military?" I asked.
> 'Yes', she said.
> 'Is there an escort?' I asked.
> 'Yes, I already assigned him a seat'.
> 'Would you please tell him to come to the flight deck.
> You can board him early," I said..
>
> A short while later, a young army sergeant entered the
> flight deck. He was the image of the perfectly dressed
> soldier. He introduced himself and I asked him about his
> soldier The escorts of these fallen soldiers talk about them
> as if they are still alive and still with us.
>
> 'My soldier is on his way back to Virginia ', he said.
> He proceeded to answer my questions, but offered no words on
> his own..
>
> I asked him if there was anything I could do for him and
> he said no. I told him that he had the toughest job in the
> military and that I appreciated the work that he does for the
> families of our fallen soldiers The first officer and I got up
> out of our seats to shake his hand He left the flight deck to
> find his seat.
>
> We completed our preflight checks, pushed back and
> performed an uneventful departure. About 30 minutes into our
> flight I received a call from the lead flight attendant in the
> cabin. 'I just found out the family of the soldier we are
> carrying, is on board', he said. He then proceeded to tell me
> that the father, mother, wife and 2-year old daughter were
> escorting their son, husband, and father home. The family was
> upset because they were unable to see the container that the
> soldier was in before we left. We were on our way to a major
> hub at which the family was going to wait four hours for the
> connecting flight home to Virginia .
>
> The father of the soldier told the flight attendant that
> knowing his son was below him in the cargo compartment and
> being unable to see him was too much for him and the family to
> bear. He had asked the flight attendant if there was anything
> that could be done to allow them to see him upon our arrival.
> The family wanted to be outside by the cargo door to watch the
> soldier being taken off the airplane.. I could hear the
> desperation in the flight attendants voice when he asked me if
> there was anything I could do.. 'I'm on it', I said. I told him
> that I would get back to him.
>
> Airborne communication with my company normally occurs
> in the form of e-mail like messages. I decided to bypass this
> system and contact my flight dispatcher directly on a secondary
> radio. There is a radio operator in the operations control
> center who connects you to the telephone of the dispatcher. I
> was in direct contact with the dispatcher. I explained the
> situation I had on board with the family and what it was the
> family wanted. He said he understood and that he would get
> back to me.
>
> Two hours went by and I had not heard from the
> dispatcher. We were going to get busy soon and I needed to
> know what to tell the family. I sent a text message asking for
> an update. I saved the return message from the dispatcher and
> this following is the text:
>
> 'Captain, sorry it has taken so long to get back to you.
> There is policy on this now and I had to check on a few things.
> Upon your arrival a dedicated escort team will meet the
> aircraft. The team will escort the family to the ramp and
> plane side. A van will be used to load the remains with a
> secondary van for the family. The family will be taken to
> their departure area and escorted into the terminal where the
> remains can be seen on the ramp. It is a private area for the
> family only. When the connecting aircraft arrives, the family
> will be escorted onto the ramp and plane side to watch the
> remains being loaded for the final leg home. Captain, most of
> us here in flight control are veterans. Please pass our
> condolences on to the family. Thanks.'
>
> I sent a message back telling flight control thanks for
> a good job. I printed out the message and gave it to the lead
> flight attendant to pass on to the father. The lead flight
> attendant was very thankful and told me, 'You have no idea how
> much this will mean to them.'
>
> Things started getting busy for the descent, approach
> and landing. After landing, we cleared the runway and taxied
> to the ramp area. The ramp is huge with 15 gates on either
> side of the alleyway. It is always a busy area with aircraft
> maneuvering every which way to enter and exit. When we entered
> the ramp and checked in with the ramp controller, we were told
> that all traffic was being held for us..
>
> 'There is a team in place to meet the aircraft', we
> were told. It looked like it was all coming together, then I
> realized that once we turned the seat belt sign off, everyone
> would stand up at once and delay the family from getting off
> the airplane. As we approached our gate, I asked the copilot to
> tell the ramp controller we were going to stop short of the
> gate to make an announcement to the passengers. He did that
> and the ramp controller said, 'Take your time'
>
> I stopped the aircraft and set the parking brake. I
> pushed the public address button and said, 'Ladies and
> gentleman, this is your Captain speaking I have stopped short
> of our gate to make a special announcement. We have a
> passenger on board who deserves our honor and respect His Name
> is Private XXXXXX, a soldier who recently lost his life.
> Private XXXXXX is under your feet in the cargo hold. Escorting
> him today is Army Sergeant XXXXXXX. Also, on board are his
> father, mother, wife, and daughter. Your entire flight crew
> is asking for all passengers to remain in their seats to allow
> the family to exit the aircraft first. Thank you.'
>
> We continued the turn to the gate, came to a stop and
> started our shutdown procedures. A couple of minutes later I
> opened the cockpit door. I found the two forward flight
> attendants crying, something you just do not see. I was told
> that after we came to a stop, every passenger on the aircraft
> stayed in their seats, waiting for the family to exit the aircraft.
>
> When the family got up and gathered their things, a
> passenger slowly started to clap his hands. Moments later more
> passengers joined in and soon the entire aircraft was clapping.
> Words of 'God Bless You', I'm sorry, thank you, be proud, and
> other kind words were uttered to the family as they made their
> way down the aisle and out of the airplane. They were escorted
> down to the ramp to finally be with their loved one.
>
> Many of the passengers disembarking thanked me for the
> announcement I had made. They were just words, I told them, I
> could say them over and over again, but nothing I say will
> bring back that brave soldier.
>
> I respectfully ask that all of you reflect on this event
> and the sacrifices that millions of our men and women have made
> to ensure our freedom and safety in these United States of
> America .
6348