Last night was my first night on call. A quiet night, I was on Fire Watch duty with a full-time firefighter for a fireworks display at 2100, then just on call until 0530. At about 1:30 I popped in "Tears of the Sun". No calls, nice and quiet so far. 2:30, we get toned out for a dumpster fire. In the truck, there is another tone for a fully involved garage fire. We head to the garage fire, and it's just toasty. Whole back half is involved, and the garage is full of books and printed materials. We weren't clear of the site until about 4:30. By 5:00 we were back at Station 3, and I had to be at KEYC at 5:30 for interviews with several of the Patriot Guard members. Running on no sleep is bad enough - after spending almost three hours on a fireground, I was just exhausted.
For those who didn't know - we had a funeral for a Lance Corproral of the Marine Corps this morning in Welcome, MN - and the Westboro "Baptist Church" was planning to be present - the ones that protest service members funerals.
The interviews go well - the Patriot Guard really is just an amazing group of men and women. 80 or so bikes left from Mankato, and we met up with more in Fairmont - around 400. This town only has about 900 citizens. The Patriot Guard is a group of mostly bikers, men and women who protect and honor the fallen service members. They only come to funerals at the request of the family of the service member, and they do not protest or use violence. They stand along the road, with 3x5' American Flags, silent. Fortunately, the Westboro group didn't even show up - they left town when they realized there were 450 of the Patriot Guard there.
I have never been one to show emotion openly - particularly crying. Today, I decided I was ok with it. This woman lost her youngest son last year in a car accident - he was 21, and in the Navy. Robert, the oldest son, was 22, and died in combat operations in Iraq. She lost both her sons in one year. I was pretty broken up. I have never attended a military burial before. And it was the single most powerful thing I've ever experienced. A full Marine honor guard was present, with a three volley salute. At the end of the ceremony, they folded the flag and handed it to Patti Posivio - and she just crumpled. It is something I will never forget.
http://www.keyc.tv/article/view/100877/
http://www.keyc.tv/article/view/100876/
Click "Watch the Video" at the bottom. Will only work in Internet Explorer.
For those who didn't know - we had a funeral for a Lance Corproral of the Marine Corps this morning in Welcome, MN - and the Westboro "Baptist Church" was planning to be present - the ones that protest service members funerals.
The interviews go well - the Patriot Guard really is just an amazing group of men and women. 80 or so bikes left from Mankato, and we met up with more in Fairmont - around 400. This town only has about 900 citizens. The Patriot Guard is a group of mostly bikers, men and women who protect and honor the fallen service members. They only come to funerals at the request of the family of the service member, and they do not protest or use violence. They stand along the road, with 3x5' American Flags, silent. Fortunately, the Westboro group didn't even show up - they left town when they realized there were 450 of the Patriot Guard there.
I have never been one to show emotion openly - particularly crying. Today, I decided I was ok with it. This woman lost her youngest son last year in a car accident - he was 21, and in the Navy. Robert, the oldest son, was 22, and died in combat operations in Iraq. She lost both her sons in one year. I was pretty broken up. I have never attended a military burial before. And it was the single most powerful thing I've ever experienced. A full Marine honor guard was present, with a three volley salute. At the end of the ceremony, they folded the flag and handed it to Patti Posivio - and she just crumpled. It is something I will never forget.
http://www.keyc.tv/article/view/100877/
http://www.keyc.tv/article/view/100876/
Click "Watch the Video" at the bottom. Will only work in Internet Explorer.
