First Place
When 2nd Lt. James Cathey's body arrived at the Reno
Airport, Marines climbed
into the cargo hold of the plane and draped the flag over
his casket as passengers
watched the family gather on the tarmac. During the arrival
of another Marine's
casket last year at Denver International Airport, Major
Steve Beck described the
scene as one of the most powerful in the process: "See the
people in the windows?
They'll sit right there in the plane, watching those
Marines. You gotta wonder
what's going through their minds, knowing that they're on
the plane that brought
him home," he said. "They're going to remember being on that
plane for the rest
of their lives. They're going to remember bringing that
Marine home. And they
should."
Second Place
The night before the burial of her husband's body, Katherine
Cathey refused to
leave
the casket, asking to sleep next to his body for the
last time. The Marines
made a
bed for her, tucking in the sheets below the flag.
Before she fell asleep,
she opened
her laptop computer and played songs that
reminded her of 'Cat,'
and one of the
Marines asked if she wanted them to continue standing watch
as she slept. "I think
it would be kind of nice if you kept
doingit," she said. "I
think that's what he would
have wanted."
All credit for this
article goes to reporter, Jim Sheeler and photographer, Todd
Heisler of
The Rocky Mountain News. For full story
click here.
" Once a Marine, Always a Marine!"
USMC4LIFE
