52 Years After Saying Goodbye, A Son Brings His Father Back Home
Filed under: General — Dana @ 4:22 pm
[guest post by Dana]
Jackson Proskow, who is Washington’s bureau chief for Global News, was at the airport in Dallas today, waiting to catch his flight back home to Washington D.C. from El Paso, after reporting on the mass shooting, when this happened:
When we arrived at our gate at Dallas’ Love Field, I noticed a few camera crews waiting. I didn’t think much of it. Perhaps they were waiting for a politician or newsmaker.
A few minutes later a gate agent from Southwest Airlines appeared and started handing out American flags.
Then came the announcement over the P.A. system. A gate agent, his voice cracking, told us about the very special arrival we were about to witness.
Our inbound plane from Oakland was carrying the remains of an American airman, Col. Roy Knight Jr., who was shot down in combat during the Vietnam war in 1967.
The agent took a long pause, as he seemed to collect his words.
“Col. Knight ejected from his aircraft, but no parachute was seen deploying,” he explained. “A search was undertaken but could not find him.”
The agent again, took a long pause, before explaining that recently, his remains were discovered and identified and returned to the United States.
“Today, Col. Knight is coming home to Dallas,” said the agent, growing more emotional as continued explaining what we were about to witness.
And, as if your heart isn’t already breaking, there’s this:
At that point, we were told that before deploying, Col. Knight had said farewell to his family at this very airport. He waved goodbye to his five-year-old son. It would be the last time he would see any of them.
By this point in the story, the terminal had fallen silent.
T.S.A. agents stood solemnly in a line near the gate. The gate agent held the microphone in his hands, taking a long pause and a deep breath. He struggled to say what came next: “Today the pilot of the plane bringing Col. Knight home, is his son.”
Proskow said that when flag-draped casket was unloaded from the cargo hold, Dallas Love Field “fell absolutely silent.”
52 years after he said goodbye to his father, Bryan Knight brought him home.
You can read Col. Knight’s story here.
Every single moment we spend with our loved ones matters. Deeply.
Make sure you go the linked article or to Proskow’s Twitter feed to view photos and video from this incredible moment.
(Cross-posted at The Jury Talks Back.)
–Dana
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Originally Posted by Kathianne
