The Most Meaningful Thing

I never expected to be changed so dramatically. It started out as a way to get off the Base and have a few outings with pals. But the gravity of our assignment soon took hold and then...

(Photo: Serving on the Honor Guard at K.I. Sawyer AFB MI, Laura on far left)

At first it started as a way to get off the Base and have a few outings with my pals. Joining the Base Honor Guard Team sounded like a fun way to travel around the Upper Peninsula, eat out, occasionally stay in a hotel overnight and maybe soak in a hot tub. And yes, we did all those things.

The bus rides were a hoot as we traveled to and from the parades where we marched in our dress blues. We ladies carried the flags while the guys sported the rifles. Crowds clapped. People came up to us afterwards and shared stories about their families and friends who served.

It was a great break from the routine of our jobs back on the Base.

The Events That Changed Us All

But we weren’t prepared for the effect our “work” on the Team had on each one of us.

It happened at the funerals.

The night before, we were just a group of fun-loving Airmen, trading jokes and swapping stories around the dinner table.

But when morning came, we donned our dress blues, polished shoes, berets and gloves, then boarded the bus. Then, it was as if a cloud descended on us, changing our shape and form into people of another era.

There were no jokes, no smiles, just somber faces and ramrod straight spines. Thoughts were on the task ahead — carrying out our duties to honor the military member who lay beneath the draped flag.

The solemnity of the event wrapped heavy around our shoulders. As I stood at attention by the casket, I looked out over the faces of those who lived with and loved this Airman, Soldier, Marine, or Seaman. I wondered about that person laying beside me — their life, the jobs they held, the people they cared for, their joys and disappointments.

Later, out by the grave, we folded the flag into sharply formed triangles. Tight and crisp. The guns went off and as expected, everyone jumped, just a little at first. Our Commander walked over to the family and presented the flag with a few kind words. Somber notes rang out from the bugle, as Taps filled the air, a song from Civil War days.

Memories of a Memorial

On that day, moments of joy and pain would resurface and be remembered forever by those who loved the man or woman beneath the flag. The prayers, poems, scented flowers, crunch of the soil beneath their feet would burrow like a thorn as they walked away from a person they’d never again see — all memories of a day they’d hoped would never come.

To be part of it was one of the most meaningful things I’ve ever done.

And so on this Memorial Day Weekend, let’s say a prayer for the families who suffered losing someone so important that words can’t express the depth of their sorrow. And say a prayer for those who left this earth having served their country in the most meaningful way possible.

For the fallen.

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Laura Lollar served seven years active duty as a paralegal in the United States Air Force.