The Things That Carried Him

A really wonderful read, regarding the road home to Scottsburg, IN for Sergeant Robert Joe Montgomery Jr. who was born in 1977 and killed in Jabour, Iraq in 2007.  Take the time to read it and remember there are similar stories for so many others who have died in the service of our country.

Now they pulled onto the I-65, this great long string of mourners and their memories. They were surprised to see every overpass — U. S. 31, Commiskey Pike, the 250 to Uniontown, 600 South — lined with flags and signs welcoming Joey home. Volunteer fire departments, dressed in full uniform, stood at attention in front of their shining trucks. Farmers drove across their fields of baby corn and soy to reach the shoulder and stood in the beds of their old pickup trucks. As reports of the procession spread — traffic helicopters joined in, flying overhead — and long-haul truckers shared the news over their radios, they pulled over and climbed out of their rigs, and cars filled with families did, too, all of them standing and saluting from across the grassy median, the northbound lanes stopped nearly as completely as the southbound.

Read the whole thing at the link above.