The Burial

I was just going through some photos when I realized I never finished posting about Dad's burial.

It was beautiful and moving and humbling.

Dad was buried at Riverside National Cemetery. He was given a full military burial. What this means is that Officers of the Military move his casket with draped flag, fold the flag, present it to my mother, play Taps and do a full gun salute to their fallen soldier. The ceremony takes about 30 minutes and then dad was moved to his place of final rest.

This was moving for me because I honestly believe that while my dad was not off in a battle when he died, that he did die for our country.

It's been known for quite some time that dad's cancer was not hereditary. It was environmentally caused. Dad's 27 year career in nuclear missiles exposed him to things that most of us take for granted of being protected from each day by our armed forces.

Dad's cancer came from his job. He knew this. He dutifully accepted it. He believed that this was his cross to bear out of his service commitment. Dad died battling his cancer. He died to protect us all.

I can not begin to articulate the emotion that came with the moments of this burial. I only wish I could get the video of the whole event on here for you.