Sunday Funnies 2013.05.19

No funnies today. Instead, since this is Sunday and the Lord's day, please take a moment to give thanks for all who serve our country.

A little over one week ago I posted something about a local serviceman who was killed supporting our forces in Afghanistan.

Last Friday he was laid to rest.

People came in Air Force buses and in their own vehicles, lining 36th Street leading to the gate at the Kelly Field Flight Line where the chartered plane landed with the remains of Capt. Mark Tyler Voss of Boerne.

                             More than 1,000 members of the military from Joint Base San Antonio turn out to salute Capt. Mark Voss as his remains were returned to San Antonio.

Voss, who was assigned to the 93rd Aerial Refueling Wing, died in the crash of a KC-135 Stratotanker in Kyrgyzstan two weeks ago on May 3, but on Thursday he was returned home.

Capt. Casey Miller of the 318th Operation Support Squadron said his squadron was joined by the hundreds of other fellow officers and airmen from JBSA:

"Obviously - especially in the San Antonio community - our airmen and our military men and women are very important to us, so when we lose one of them, it touches all of us. So we're just here to support not only the family and friends of our fallen airman, but also the people that work with him and the people who wear the uniform," Miller said.

From Kelly Field in San Antonio, Captain Voss was transported to his home town of Boerne.

Boerne residents have been honoring their local hero since news of his crash, with flags lowered to half staff and a memorial gathering at Veterans Park.

Cars began lining the streets surrounding St. John Lutheran Church in Boerne hours before the service for Air Force Capt. Mark “Tyler” Voss on Friday.

People pulled their cars halfway into front yards before making lengthy treks to the church or flagging down a golf cart shuttle.

Those who could not find a seat in the sanctuary, or the room across the hall in which the service was projected, lined the streets to pay homage to Voss, whose body was returned to Texas from the Afghan war.

Pallbearers carry the casket of Capt. Mark Voss during a military funeral at St. John Lutheran Church in Boerne.

Capt. Eric Hakos, who attended the U.S. Air Force Academy with Voss, said the 27-year-old was a stranger to no one, but to the nearly 1,000 people who attended his funeral, he was a hero.

After the ceremony, people lined the streets in silence, flinching as three volleys were fired to salute the fallen soldier, and the flag draped over the coffin on which his dog tags hung was folded and delivered to his family.

Marcy and Wayne Voss receive the U.S. flag that draped their son's casket.

If the picture above doesn't make your eyes water then you have no heart.

In a sad twist of fate, the day following Captain Voss' funeral was Saturday, May 18 - Armed Forces Day.

Taken together, the two events serve as a poignant reminder off the hardships, risks, and sacrifices men and women in uniform endure so that we may enjoy our American way of life.

I repeat - please take a moment to give thanks for all who serve, have served, or will serve our country.

Amen.