Page 889 - Total War on PTSD

“Once you have had a wonderful dog, a life without one, is a life diminished.” - Dean Koontz
Courtenay: I often worked 16-hour days if not way more, during deployment. To tell the truth, I really have no idea how much I worked...but it was nearly always dark when I left. There were at least daily flight line announcements for Ramp Ceremonies, honoring our service members lost in battle.
Even today when I think about the ceremonies, and the men and women laying inside those coffins, under their nations flag, and I hope that there is someone at home to support the remaining family. While I couldn’t make myself, seeming to always find a reason because of my workload, to not go...but I knew what happened during these ceremonies.
I found myself years later watching one of these ceremonies, that occurred more recently in Kandahar, Afghanistan, and laying my fingers on the computer screen, and found my fingers followed the coffin as it was carried from the plane to the hearse...and I felt tears welling up in my eyes for the first time in years (since my own Afghanistan deployment actually) and a tingle running down my spine.
I shiver even now thinking of this...because I watched it over and over again (so many times I lost count), and felt the same way every time...I still do. It doesn’t matter that I didn’t know that service member. It never does and it never will. Just that fact that it was someone who served our country...who died in service to our country...and that’s all that matters.
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