We had just gotten off a very cramped discount airline plane, spilling gratefully out of the fetid recycled air, into the echoey half empty terminal.

We had no particular place to go – we were taking a short vacation. Relaxing now with each stride toward the day ahead, we talked and smiled as we planned what we were going to eat next in a favorite town we were here to visit.

As we made our way through the terminal, we noticed a crowd was forming at the windows to our right. Wondering what they were looking at, we did what curious onlookers do, and we joined the hundreds of others moving slowly toward the large panels of glass.

Immediately I spotted the military honor guard, and I clasped my husband’s arm, pulling him to a stop.

The airline was beginning to unload a flag laden casket, and the crowd was still. People stood straighter. Talking ceased, and ball caps came off, held to the side.

I thought of the three generations of my family that had served and were serving in the military. My grandfather and my father had gone to war, and by the grace of God, came home. My son had deployed, and was now home, awaiting the birth of his second son.

As I watched the slow procession carrying this hero to his final destination on earth, tears ran down my face. I said a prayer for the family, the friends, the loved ones that were left behind. I said a prayer of gratitude for this one who gave the ultimate sacrifice for our country.

I am grateful to that one.

I am grateful for them all.