主题：【随笔】Taking Chance -- pxpxpx

２００８年，独立日，一位美国民航的机长写了一篇博客：

Fallen Soldier

文章不长，讲他有一次飞航班的时候，机上载有一位阵亡士兵的尸体以及士兵的父母妻儿和护送遗体的军人。

起飞后，这位机长收到空乘的报告，说

＂The family was upset because they were unable to see the container that the soldier was in before we left.

The family wanted to be outside by the cargo door to watch the soldier being taken off the airplane.＂

机长本人就是老兵，他接到报告后就直接与飞行调度联系，希望可以在飞机着陆后满足士兵家人的心愿。

经过两个多小时的漫长等待，这位机长收到了飞行调度的回信：

Captain, sorry it has taken so long to get back to you. There is policy on this now and I had to check on a few things. Upon your arrival a dedicated escort team will meet the aircraft. The team will escort the family to the ramp and planeside. A van will be used to load the remains with a secondary van for the family. The family will be taken to their departure area and escorted into the terminal where the remains can be seen on the ramp. It is a private area for the family only. When the connecting aircraft arrives, the family will be escorted onto the ramp and planeside to watch the remains being loaded for the final leg home.

一切都安排得很体贴。

信的最后，飞行调度讲：

Captain, most of us here in flight control are veterans. Please pass our condolences on to the family, thanks.

很快，飞机就落地了，繁忙的机场为机长的飞机顺利入港提供了最大的便利，就在飞机即将停靠完毕的时候，飞机向乘客们说了一段话：

Ladies and gentleman, this is your captain speaking. I have stopped short of our gate to make a special announcement. We have a passenger on board who deserves our honor and respect. His name is private XXXXXX, a soldier who recently lost his life. Private XXXXXX is under your feet in the cargo hold. Escorting him today is army sergeant XXXXXXX. Also onboard are his father, mother, wife, and daughter. Your entire flight crew is asking for all passengers to remain in their seats to allow the family to exit the aircraft first. Thank you.

如机长所期待的那样，所有的乘客都留在自己的座位上

When the family got up and gathered their things, a passenger slowly started to clap their hands. Moments later more passengers joined in and soon the entire aircraft was clapping. Words of “God Bless You, I’m sorry, Thank you, Be proud, and other kind words were uttered to the family as they made their way down the aisle and out of the airplane. They were escorted down to the ramp to finally be with the loved one lost.

机长的博客的最后写到：

I never did see the family. Another soldier died, another family grieved and we did what we could. That is the way it works sometimes. I get a call from the cabin and we work as a team to do what we can. That day everybody from the flight crew, to the operations center, to the 184 passengers onboard, we did what we could. Many of the passengers disembarking thanked me for the announcement I made. They were just words, I could say them over and over again, but nothing I say will bring that soldier back. I respectfully ask that all of you reflect on this day and the sacrifices that millions of men and women have made to ensure our freedom, safety, and the right to live a good life.

事后，机长得知，当时机场里出来陪伴士兵家人和遗体的护送人员都是航空公司的雇员，他们有一个志愿者组织，叫Patriot Guard Riders。这个志愿者组织唯一的宗旨就是

Giving a fallen soldier the honor, respect, and dignity they deserve during their final journey home

在下面的留言里，有一位志愿者讲了自己的一个经历，其中的一个故事是：

I had an escort come off a flight, a Command Sergeant Major, 30 years in the U.S. Army, a man to be both respected and feared. The honor guard had finished rendering honors on the remains he was escorting, an 18 year old “girl” who was killed in Afghanistan, I was getting ready to take the escort upstairs to board the flight when he asked me If I had any children, and if any were serving in the military, I told him “yes” I have three sons and my oldest was deployed in Afghanistan. He was trembling and asked that I give my boys a hug and next time I talked to my son in Afghanistan to let him know how much I loved him “because you never know.” The “girl” he was escorting was his daughter...

机长博客的链接在下面：

http://acaptainslog.blogspot.com/2008/07/fallen-soldier_04.html