PRESERVING A MILITARY LEGACY FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS
The following Reflection represents HM3 Johnathan Loper’s legacy of their military service from 2010 to 2016. If you are a Veteran, consider preserving a record of your own military service, including your memories and photographs, on Togetherweserved.com (TWS), the leading archive of living military history. The Service Reflections is an easy-to-complete self-interview, located on your TWS Military Service Page, which enables you to remember key people and events from your military service and the impact they made on your life.
What was the biggest personal challenge that you encountered during your military service? How did you approach and overcome this?:
As a Navy Ceremonial Guard Casket Bearer, we did 6 funerals daily, 5 days a week in Arlington National Cemetery. However, one funeral in particular was very tough. Everything seemed normal. The car pulled up to the chapel; I removed the urn from the back seat and carried it past the seated family to the front of the chapel. I placed the urn on the small table and made my way out and down to the basement, where we usually waited for the family to speak and pay their final respects upstairs.
That day, I was alone. This was a one-man funeral meant for family members of military members in urns. I hadn’t done a one-man funeral before but had rehearsed the process repeatedly. The thing I didn’t rehearse for was the speakers in the basement. I hadn’t heard them before because the basement is usually full of Guardsmen. In fact, no one had ever mentioned them. This was a surprise thathadn’tn’t prepared my mind for.
The speakers began to illustrate the story of the person I was carrying that day. It was a 7-day-old baby boy. He died from breathing complications. Three people got up to speak, and it was heart-wrenching. After listening to the story, I then had to go back into the chapel and retrieve the urn which I had placed at the front only 30 minutes before, and I could feel the emotional energy. As I picked up the urn, I knew I had to face about and face the family. I told myself, you are the face of the Navy; stay strong. I turned and ceremoniously walked through the chapel, past the family, and out to the transport vehicle. I placed the urn in the seat and made my way to the van to take me to meet the family at the burial site.
As I stood there on the curb awaiting the funeral procession, I couldn’t get the story out of my mind. The family arrived and were instructed to follow me through the columbarium to the site. It was a winding walk through the columbarium. This is when it got very difficult. I turned to face the family, and there in front of me was a Captain in full dress uniform in tears. The urn I was holding was his son. My job was to remain strong and ceremonial. I passed the urn, took a breath, saluted the captain, and about faced, walking with a heavy heart back to the van. A day I will never forget.
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A job distinctly accomplished with honour representing the Navy. Such a moving and compelling telling of duties performed in an emotional environment.