Many young Americans bravely decide to serve in the U.S. military in order to better their lives or protect our country from what we are told are our foreign enemies. Their experience in the military leaves some of these men and women with a newfound skillset that couldn’t be gained anywhere else.
Some of them end up performing heroic feats and are decorated with medals and accolades. Some witness untold horrors that leave them with mental and physical scars for the rest of their lives.
Some don’t make it back at all.
This is why, regardless of our political or religious beliefs, many people revere those who serve in the military, especially our fallen soldiers. So, when Mike Helms’ flight touched down he and the diverse group of people who were on his plane all stopped to pay homage to Brooke Newton.
According to a Facebook page created her in honor, Newton, 25, who passed away on Aug. 30 in San Diego, California was born at Tinker Air Force Base and joined the Air National Guard in high school before joining the Navy.
Brooke’s body was being transported on the flight Helms’ was on. He documented the flight in a post on Facebook which has been shared on the Love What Matters Facebook page.
“My plane landed in Oklahoma City last night. When we stopped at the terminal, the pilot announced that he would like to inform us that we were flying one of our fallen soldiers, Brooke Newton, home to her family,” Helms wrote. “He asked that we remain on the plane until our soldier was removed from the plane first. He also asked that we give a moment of silence.”
Helms was heartbroken when he spotted Helms’ grieving parents.
“As we sat there waiting, I decided to look out the window and this is what I saw,” Helms recalled. “A mother and father hysterically crying on their fallen soldier’s casket. Standing off to the side were soldiers from her unit saluting their fallen soldier.”
Helms said the entire plane became emotional at the heartbreaking sight.
“This moment hit me hard for some reason,” he wrote. “I couldn’t hold back tears. As I looked around the plane, I was hoping nobody would see my moment of weakness but to my surprise, damn near everyone on the plane was crying.”
In that moment no one thought of how their religious or political beliefs made them different.
They were all the same, all human and taking the time to respect the fact that a human life was lost.
“The woman standing next to me was Muslim,” Helms explained. “She was in tears and she tried consoling the woman next to her. The plane was filled with people of all races and religions. It was amazing to see everyone on that plane pay tribute to this woman and her family. I saw no division on that plane last night. I saw Americans paying respect to their countryman. A woman who put her life on the line for me, and you, and your freedoms.”
Helm’s post went viral and received more than 15,000 shares on the Loves What Matters Facebook page.
The Daily Mail reports that a cousin of Newton’s father, Jennifer Nadeau, thanked Helms for writing the post.
“Thank you from the bottom of my families heart!!!” she wrote. “You are an amazing soul truly!!!”
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