- By Richelle Brown, Aviation and Missile Command Public Affairs
- This Memorial Day, as the Army marks its 250th birthday, I reflect with deep gratitude on the meaning of service and the lives forever changed by it.
As my deployment to Iraq came to an end, I was originally scheduled to depart Al Udeid Air Base on Jan. 4, 2011 aboard chalk 009. But those orders changed when I was granted a Space-A seat. What I thought would be a routine flight home turned into an experience I will carry with me for the rest of my life.
I walked onto the aircraft expecting a quiet trip. The plane was empty – except for a single flag-draped transfer case near the front. It was the remains of Sgt. 1st Class Micheal Beckerman. His wife, Spc. Margaretta Beckerman, and a military escort soon joined me. Together, we flew from Al Udeid to Ramstein Air Base.
Beckerman had been killed on New Year’s Eve during a routine patrol in Afghanistan when he stepped on an IED. His lieutenant survived but lost three limbs. I spent that flight overwhelmed with emotion – thinking about Beckerman’s family, his unit, and especially his wife, who sat across the bay from me. My heart ached for her, and I couldn’t help but think of my own family waiting for me back home. I was going home whole. Not everyone does.
From Ramstein, I continued on to Andrews Air Force Base with 16 wounded warriors being medically evacuated. The toll of war was etched into every face and every movement on that aircraft. That journey changed me. It reminded me to never take for granted the gift of returning home and I wonder what his family is doing this Memorial Day.
This Memorial Day, and on the Army’s 250th birthday, take time to remember and a few minutes to honor those who really and truly gave it all.
Editor’s note: Sgt. 1st Class Micheal Beckerman, 25, of Ste. Genevieve, Missouri, served with the 2nd Brigade Special Troops Battalion, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault). He was killed on Dec. 31, 2010, in Kandahar Province, Afghanistan. His wife, Spc. Margaretta Beckerman, also served and was deployed at the time. (Courtesy of Basler Funeral Home, Ste. Genevieve.)