Provided below is a message from CW4(R) James V. Torney, who escorted
the remains of CW2 Kyle E. Jackson home from Iraq. CW2 Jackson and CW3
Mitchell K. Carver, Jr., were killed in action near Al Sukar, Iraq,
on Jan. 13, when their OH-58D Kiowa Warrior helicopter came under
attack by enemy forces using small arms fire. They were assigned to
the 1st Battalion, 10th Aviation Regiment, 10th Mountain Division,
Fort Drum, N.Y.

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I was escorting our brother Kyle home the other day. A duty I don't
ever want to do again but will not refuse. Besides all of the
attention you get walking around in your A's, I was thanked for my
service from civilians, prior service, and active duty personnel in
the various airports, some with a passing thank you, some stopped me
to shake my hand. This I want to extend and share with all of you.

Delta Airlines was very accommodating. They put me in first class and
moved me to the very first seat in each plane. A woman gave me her
aisle seat so that I could leave without having to climb over her when
the flight was over. After conversing with this woman for a while, I
found out her husband was an F4E pilot during the Vietnam era. I was
invited to dinner with them when I was finished with my duty. The
restaurant manager paid for my rather pricey meal much to the dismay
of my new friends who planned to pay for it themselves. I was then
invited to stay at their home as long as I was going to be in Florida.

Back to Delta Airlines and the real reason of this post.

Prior to backing out of the terminal in Philadelphia the pilot came
over the intercom. With a choked up voice he thanked the military for
their service and explained that we were carrying the remains of a
soldier who gave his life for his country and then asked for a moment
of silence. We sat in silence for a few minutes and then backed out
for Atlanta. Upon reaching Atlanta, I was met on the tarmac by a man
who walked me around the front of the plane where there were more men
standing in a row with every branch flag and the US flag. These men
had assembled their own honor guard complete with a retired Army
chaplain. There was someone from each branch holding a flag. They
pulled the crate out of the plane and stopped it on the belt giving
the chaplain time to say a prayer. They started the belt and came to
attention rendering honors as it passed. They thanked me and sent me
with a card they made on the computer and signed with their deepest
regrets to the family and shuttled us to the next terminal. They had
their reflective vests embroidered with Honor Guard and a US flag
across the back. They also told me that they have a dark blue trolley
that they use for this but it was missing (we found out it was sent to
pick up Mitch at another terminal).

They had explained that this was the least they could do to give back
to those who had given their lives for them. This was the third
toughest thing on my trip (seeing how much some really do care). The
second: inspecting Kyle's uniform for the last time. And the hardest
thing: seeing his family. I wanted to share this experience with all
of you because none of this was done for me. It was done for all of
us. It was something nice out of something so terrible.

Thank You Kyle.

Thank You Mitch.

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Thanks for your post.

Our Thanks and Blessings to You, Kyle, Mitch and all the over brave soldiers who have protected our country in the past, during the present and - if necessary - in the future. You are the best of the best.

Thank you so much for your post and God bless you.

So many thanks to you, Mitchell, and Kyle. God bless you.

Hello dutyfree. Your thread and this message has certainly brought tears to my eyes. I am choked up at the moment. Thank you for sharing this bittersweet story dutyfree.

In memory of those who served...may stories like this be a reminder forever of our soldiers who served so that freedom may live.

What a touching story, thanks for sharing this.