West Cocoa Chat

Good morning family.
I spoke to my good friend Bob, in South Carolina last night. His family is preparing for the arrival of his nephew’s remains from Iraq. The body will be flown to Jason’s hometown airport under military escort. This is done to ensure that this American Hero’s body is treated with the utmost respect that he deserves having paid the ultimate price for freedom. There will be a ceremony at the airport in Barnwell, S.C. which will involve the community, local dignitaries, representatives of the military, and of course my friend’s family.

Tomorrow will be for the family. Jason’s wife who just gave birth to their fourth child comes from a large family herself. The funeral will take place on Thursday with full military honors. In fact, the funeral procession will be escorted from the church to the cemetery by an Apache Helicopter, just like the one that Jason flew when he made his fateful decision in Iraq to turn his helicopter around to save the lives of another aircrew that had come under attack.

It has come to the attention of the family that Jason and his co-pilot knew that they were flying back into a trap. It seems this is the latest tactic of the insurgents in Iraq. They attempt to bring down or severely damage the 2nd or 3rd aircraft in a formation in the hopes that the other helicopters will turn around in an attempt to rescue their fallen comrades thus bringing them back into the kill zone. In my conversation with my good friend Bob, apparently there are recordings of Jason’s and his Co-pilot’s conversation where they were quite aware that they were flying back into a trap but they didn’t care. One of their comrades was in trouble and they were bound and determine to not let another air crew fall victim to our enemies despite the danger to themselves.

Today there are 4 families that are celebrating that decision but in two very different ways. Two families celebrate this act of bravery with the thought that their loved ones are alive thanks to Jason and his co-pilot. Then there are 2 other families that will also “celebrate” that decision as they start the process of saying goodbye to their husbands, fathers, sons, and Grandsons. It kind of reminds me of our approach to Communion.

For some, Communion is a celebration of joy for if it had not been for Jesus, death would still have its ultimate sting. For others, Communion reminds them of the tragic death of Jesus as he hung on the Cross. Both acts resulted in death and both acts granted life.

Remember the DeFrenn Family this week family and the next time you see a man or women in uniform, tell them “thanks.”

You can follow the link to read or watch the report about Jason which was done by a local television news station in Augusta, GA.
http://www.wrdw.com/home/headlines/5676921.html