Last week, a young Marine named Scott Harper died in Afghanistan. Lance Cpl. Harper, 21, was from my tiny hometown.
Last Friday, his body was driven to a local funeral home from the Fulton County airport. I was in Atlanta all day and unable to welcome him home, but I knew many people from our county would be lining the streets, showing their support. That morning, as I drove toward the interstate, I saw more flags than I could count and "thank you" messages on almost every local business sign. My heart sank for this guy and his family, but I also felt a little hopeful.
It was nice to see some solidarity in my community in a way that I haven't seen it since, I guess, September 11. Far too often, we get caught up in political bickering or focus on the negative things that go on here every week. It's sad that it took the death of a brave young man to bring people together, but it gave me hope that we still know what's important in this country, and we still come together to honor those who fight for our freedom. We still appreciate our freedom and hopefully, we aren't quite ready to give it up, to let men and women like Scott Harper die in vain.
This morning, I saw that the local government access channel had put together a video of the procession. I clicked on it, not planning to watch the whole thing. My callous thought was that I'd seen this kind of procession before, and yes, it's incredible to watch, but the video is sixteen minutes long, and I had somewhere to be.
Sixteen minutes later, I was sitting on the edge of my bed with tears streaming down my face. I had to completely redo my makeup, and I was late for my destination, but so be it. When I think about what all Harper gave up for all of us, I dare complain about silly inconveniences.
I'm posting the video here, and I do suggest watching it. People literally lined the streets in my county and two neighboring counties to show their thanks. Children sat outside a local elementary school, waving flags. Utility workers raised flags over the streets in the cherry pickers on their trucks. Employees of local businesses, all dressed in the same shirts, stood alongside the road with their hands on their hearts. Police officers, sheriff's deputies, state patrolmen, paramedics and firefighters flashed the lights on their vehicles. Drivers pulled over on side of the road for the rather lengthy parade of motorcycles, official vehicles, cars, trucks and a single black hearse. I saw old people and young people. I saw people who'd walked up with their dogs and people standing in the back of pick-up trucks. There were so many U.S. flags, U.S.M.C. flags and handmade signs. There were so many people in uniform, people currently serving their country and people who did so in the past. There were people of all races, shapes and sizes and people in jeans and t-shirts and people in business suits.
The video alone is truly a sight to behold and a reminder that most of us have very little to complain about. I do hope you'll watch and say a little prayer for Harper and his family.
LCpl Scott Harper Procession from Channel 23 on Vimeo.
2 comments:
I was at Charlie Brown when he arrived and in Douglasville when he arrived at the funeral home. It was very moving.
Nice... wish I could have been there.
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