In Memory of Ben

Emily, Louie and I drove down to Rosemount this morning to go to the funeral of Ben Kopp. Ben is the son of my co-worker, Jill Stephenson. He was an Army Ranger and was injured in Afghanistan on July 10. It was a beautiful day and the ceremony was amazing.
The Patriot Guard was there.



There was a bagpipe player there, Emily and Louie were quite fascinated by him. Of course, the second that I heard the bagpipes playing, I got all choked up.

Officers from Ben's Ranger Unit were there to honor him.

And when his casket was removed from the hearse, a Blackhawk helicopter flew in and hovered about 100 feet above the casket for about 30 seconds and then it very slowly rises up. It was pretty spectacular to see this. Louie was fascinated by it.


I told my kids while we were driving down there what we were going to see. Louie asked if Ben was going to Heaven, with Papa and Jesus and the Angels? I also told them that when they see all the flags and the one on the casket, they should stand quiet with their hands on their heart. Surprisingly, they did it.
Today got me thinking of all the men and women serving our Country in the military and how grateful I am for their service. Ironically, my boss Gil Hernandez, is leaving today for his 7 month deployment in Iraq. We're all praying for his safe return!