A passenger on board a flight into Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina, on Feb. 14 captured a heart-rending scene: A young military widow met her husband’s coffin, draped with the American flag, as he returned home forever.
Shared via Facebook, the video taken by the sympathetic passenger has now shown millions of Americans what military sacrifice really looks like.
Passenger Lisa West Williams was waiting to exit her aircraft at Raleigh-Durham International Airport when she and her fellow passengers observed from their aircraft windows a flag-draped coffin being removed from the plane’s luggage compartments.
Williams and fellow passengers can be heard weeping as they watch the young wife, dressed in black, lay her head on the coffin bearing her husband’s remains. Others soon surrounded her and comforted her, then walked away with her as six military members approached the casket and carried his remains to a waiting hearse.
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Green Beret Shawn Thomas — a 35-year-old father of four, died Feb. 2 in a vehicle accident while serving in Niger, Africa, according to his obituary. Thomas, from Oklahoma, was based at Ft. Bragg in North Carolina with his family — his wife, Tara, and their children Cheyenne, Taylor, Gavin, and Natylyn. He was an Echo in the Special Forces and was on his eighth deployment when he died, according to Yahoo News.
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“It was an honor to fly home with this PATRIOT!” wrote Williams on her Facebook post of the video, which has been viewed over nine million times as of this writing. “God bless his wife and family. There was not a dry eye around me.”
Later, Williams told local news station WNCT that the young widow had given her permission to post the video to Facebook, thanking her and hoping others would see the sacrifices made by military families.
“She wanted people to realize that this goes on every day,” Williams told WNCT. “There are many men and women that come home in a casket and they’ve made the ultimate sacrifice for us.”
“Thank you so much for your service, and so sorry for your loss,” wrote one commenter after Williams’ post. “May you find comfort in your memories.”
The Army Times reported that Thomas was awarded two Bronze Stars and four Good Conduct Medals, among other honors.
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“Under his big beard, tattoos and giant muscles there was a small-town Oklahoma boy that was grounded by his faith, strong values, and family,” his obituary read. “He will be missed by everyone that had the opportunity to meet him.”
Thomas will be interred at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia.
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