We Salute You

I had my first experience with "human remains" at the airport today. They told us about it in training, how sometimes soldiers who died overseas are shipped home, and you must be very careful about keeping the wooden boxes right side up in the belly of the plane. They also have to be the first thing off the plane, and you have to be very respectful. Its rather erie, if you think about it.

Today, as Bill was closing up the cargo nets after James and I had brought the last two gate checks (2 guitars) down from the jet bridge, I saw a large convoy of police cars coming towards us down the VSR. There were two Expeditions with flashing lights in front followed by a hearse, a large gray van with soldiers inside (I saw the insignias on their sleeves through the tinted windows) and four more police SUVS. James stopped and saluted as they drove by, and I did the same. We're not military, either of us, but it just felt right.

The convoy proceeded down to one of the gates American Airlines uses, and waited for a while. I don't think their plane came in before ours pushed back, but I'm pretty sure I saluted an empty hearse. But, at the time, it felt like the reverent thing to do, standing there in my baggy snowpants and my bright orange vest.

I wonder how we'd react if such a convoy greeted one of our planes. Would the usually irreverent baggage handlers among us snap out of it? Some of us are ex-military. Either way, I'm sure such proceedings would give us a delay. Would we be able to "turn it and burn it" like usual afterward? Would the ops people understand?