Day One:
A few hours ago I was
having second thoughts. Why would I make
a special effort to attend the funeral of both army sergeants? Was I making this some sort of game – a
scavenger hunt? Am I disrespecting the
soldiers by acknowledging what Abdul Ahad has accomplished?
Then, as I approached the
funeral home a few minutes after the 2 o’clock starting time and saw 20
PGRiders standing their solemn vigil, it was all clear to me: I will take direction from the Ride Captains. In that absence, I will use my best
judgment. Certainly, the grieving family
can stop me.
But nothing else will.
The sight of 20 adults who
have given their day to the task of holding a flag is inspiring. Not because it is hard to do – standing while
steadying a flagstaff is easy. Not
because the resulting display is colorful – we could produce a hundred PVC
poles over a hundred rebar stakes and fill the area with red, white & blue. And certainly not because we don’t have other
things to do.
We just have nothing
better to do. We believe that we make a
statement that should be heard: this was
a great man who died for a great nation.
20 adults made 20 individual decisions to stand through the afternoon
and evening on a Wednesday. We didn’t know
Kevin Grieco but we know about him, and that is good enough.
One thing we know is that
he was a Boy Scout and at the time of his death he was a Scout Leader. I was reminded of the first time I saw scouts
holding the door of a funeral home during the visitation for a military
death. It was Girl Scouts in New Lenox. Inspired by that I recently took my Cub Scouts to
This one is named Nick.
Nick is an Eagle Scout.
The sight of an Eagle
Scout who has given his day to the task of holding a door is inspiring. Not because it is hard to do – opening doors
so that others may pass through is easy.
Not because the resulting display is colorful – the red, white &
blue of an Eagle Scout neckerchief could have been replaced by elaborate
bunting and a rubber wedge to prop the door open. And certainly not because he doesn’t have
other things to do.
He simple decided there is
nothing better he could do this day.
But
Nick didn’t decide in a vacuum. There
are adults in his life who influenced him.
Adults who could have said to him, “Oh, don’t do that. There are other people who will take care of
that.”
or,
“You should do your homework instead. Or
at least, go out and socialize with your friends your own age.”
or,
“I don’t think its healthy for a young boy to get mixed-up in the funeral of
someone we don’t even know. Especially a
military funeral.”
It would have been very
easy for his parents or his teachers or his Scout Leaders to steer Nick away
from this unhappy task. So I give Nick
most of the credit, but I also give credit to his parents, his teachers and his
Scout Leaders. During World War Two, all
Americans were drafted into the war effort.
Now we fight wars with volunteers.
Most of us do not volunteer. Nick
did.
And to all those parents
who say to their children, “You just stay away.
You’re still a hero in my book.” I answer that you can stretch that definition
to include everyone.
About a million real
heroes have volunteered for reserve service.
(Out of 300 million Americans.)
That means they work in the private sector but they keep themselves
ready to go to war. Kevin Grieco was a
member of the largest reserve component, the Army National Guard. Each of the 50 states has a National Guard
and together they currently supply 68,104 soldiers to Noble Eagle, Enduring Freedom
and Iraqi Freedom. In addition to those 68 thousand National Guard soldiers now active and deployed,
there have been another 216 thousand National Guard soldiers who have been
activated since 9/11/2001.
The Regular Army Reserve
(of which my wife is part) is the next largest reserve component. There are also the Marine Reserve, the Navy
Reserve, the Air Force Reserve, the Air National Guard and the Coast Guard
Reserve. Together with the National
Guard they currently supply 120,257 soldiers to Noble Eagle, Enduring Freedom
and Iraqi Freedom. In addition to those 120 thousand reservists now active and deployed, there
have been another 558 thousand who have been activated since 9/11/2001.
Kevin Grieco was a Boy
Scout and then a Scout Leader. At the
same time, according to the newspaper, “Grieco
served 13 years in the U.S. Navy and Navy Reserves, training for two weeks in
The four men below stood
guard with us. The sailor is from
Kevin’s navy reserve unit. The soldier
is from Kevin’s army reserve unit in
I go to Kevin’s funeral
tomorrow and then I leave for
back to FOUR HARD DAYS
back to ALL MISSIONS