Monday, October 06, 2008

i went to a funeral this morning. yesterday in church, the minister told us of the death of a 21 year old young military man who had died of a brain anyurism and who was a baptized believer and whose funeral would be today at 11:00a.m. I went to be of some comfort to the mother. This young man was at fort hood when he felt sick and went to bed. the next morning, his buddies took him to the hospital where he later died. His precious mother, whom i met today, has lost another son when he was a toddler. My heart broke for her. I cant imagine this happening twice to someone. I gave her my phone number. Her face was so grief stricken. Jared Scott Arnn had a military guard and letters written by his superior officers. Two of his buddies spoke so lovingly of him, as well as his 5th grade wrestling coach, his sister, his dad and his mother had a letter read about her son. At the end of the service, the army had a roll call. They called out the name of one of Jared's friends, and the young man stood and said "present sir". They called out the name of the second friend, who likewise stood and answered "present, sir". Then they called out "Specialist Jared Arnn". Of course, no response. Again, "Specialist Jared Arnn". A third time, "Specialist Jared Scott Arnn". Then TAPS was played. So heartbreaking, but he was a Christian. A beautiful service. So sad. So glad i went.

2 comments:

Anony Mouse said...

That last part is powerful. It is always touching to see the amount of respect that is paid to service men even after they have left this world.

vicki said...

I am glad you went, too. I agree with Anony. It is so good to know that he is greatly honored even in his death, but my heart breaks for the family he leaves behind.