An Airport Funeral...

Just saw the most somber thing. Was at the gate for a flight from Chicago O'Hare to Minneapolis and the inbound flight had a casket on it. 10 min before the flight showed up, 2 police escorts, a hearse and 2 vans showed up.

There were about 8 members of the armed forces, an honor guard, I think from the army. The plane showed up and a combination of the military guys and the Northwest Airlines employees climbed in to the plane and moved the casket onto the conveyor belt and then out so the honor guard could carry the casket to the hearse. A big crowd had gathered at the gate, maybe 100 or so, and when the casket came out of the plane, fully draped with an American flag, it went silent. They might have even shut off the PA. The same thing happened on the ramp. Everything stopped.

In a very dignified manner, with the police and NWA ramp employees standing at attention, the honor guard slowly carried the casket to the hearse and drove off. Later, on the flight, the pilot said the deceased person was a fallen soldier from Iraq, which I think is what everyone had already assumed. And all right before Christmas. Its so easy to forget until you see something like that...

David Bernstein from Blackberry