Memorial

Last night was not a night for sleeping. It was a night for praying.

Christian and five of his comrades in arm will have their memorial service in the hanger that we stood in two days ago. And I believe that the Lord will sustain us and answer our prayers. We want others to see Jesus and know our hope. "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear..."

We all wake before our alarms sound. Showers are taken, coffee is made, Bibles are open. Andrew comes at the appointed time to give us an escort. We arrive on base and are shown into a waiting room with the other families and many military people. All there for support and recognition of our great loss. Three brothers surround Elizabeth and give her strength for the moment.

When all is ready, the generals, Lt colonels, chaplains and Italian dignitaries have arrived and are seated they escort us in and we stand. The color guard and honor guard are in the procession. The Italian national anthem is sung followed by ours. We have a prayer and then a responsive reading from Psalm 23 and then we are seated. The "Lord's Prayer" is sung.

Brig. General Craig Franklin, the Wing Commander of the base gives a tribute, he loved his men, he is sincere, he is experiencing loss. The Italian base commander, Colonel Roberto Sardo stands and tells us he brings us a big hug for our missing friends. The Italians consider the area of the crash to be sacred soil and give thanks for the emergency rescue team that was first on the crash site. Lt colonel Nathan Lyden speaks about the men individually. And Lt colonel Troy Krings, Christian's boss in Germany, tell us that his army guys, Christian and Dave, were Godly men, they had an impact on many, dedicated to their family and friends and he will continue to build on Christian's efforts at the base. He gives a quote from Patton......"It is foolish to mourn the dead, we need to give thanks to God for men who have lived".

The eulogies begin. The first is for Captain Cartize Durham. Meka and Cartize and their children go to church with Elizabeth. And the two thousand people that fill the hanger begin to hear the gospel message. This man loved the Lord. He had great faith. He loved his family and there is hope. His family will see him one day.

The eulogies are beautiful, funny, reflective and revealing. They all have families and friends. They are loved and have died too young. All the eulogies are given by military people. All except Christian.

Phil gets up to the podium. He tells us that Christian loved the people that God brought into his life. He had an unpredictable excitment. He was comfortable in his own skin. Christian knew that God had uniquely made him and he was uniquely related to the Lord of life. Phil tells us that Christian was so thankful for being able to fly, his great love. He is thankful for his fellow soldiers, he has met people from all over the world. He never said "good-bye". He always said "See you later". This time it may take a little longer then we have been used to but we have this hope that we will be with him, just may be a little longer then we expected. Phil is forwarding his message to me and I will post it in it's entirety on my blog. I sit there stunned and praising God. the gospel has been preached in that four minute eulogy to over two thousand people. We have eternal life and we hve abundant life and we do not grieve as those without hope. We have this hope. Thank you Jesus.

The last person to be eulogized is Dave, Christian's warrant officer, and he is a Christian also. He is a man of few words but much service. He never let you down. He gave his heart to the Lord a year ago and was studying the Bible with CW2 Will Tuavargas. will discipled Dave and baptized him recently.

There is a New Testament reading from James 1:2-5 and then some reflections from the two chaplains from the Battalion and the Base. And then the benediction.

And then the hardest most heart wrenching ceremony. Roll Call. The first Sergeants for all the men step up and call out their units. The men stand and answer to their name. The missing soldier is called out. One time with his rank and last name. Silence. Again calling him with his rank, his first name and last name. Silence. Again, with his rank, first, middle and last name. Silence.

Rodney steps up in front of the families. His bottom lip is quivering and tears are in his eyes. He can not have eye contact with us or his men. He loved and appreciated Christian. They had become friends. Christians unit is behind us. Names are called out and responded to. Then:
Captain Skoglund

Silence

Captain Christian Skoglund

Silence

Captain Christian P. Skoglund

Silence

The doors are open. The honor guard does the 21 gun salute and taps are played. We cry.

We are brought to the front where the pictures of all the fallen men are. Andrew leads Elizabeth forward, with tears in his eyes. He has loved Christian and his loss is great. Our country's flag in front of each picture. Christian's flying helmet and boots are there. Kay and I hold hands and cry. Christian was a wonderful son and husband.

There is a reception immediately after. Elizabeth stands receiving people for over two and a half hours. The lines to see her keep increasing. Their Italian friend Marco and his wife come and cry. He met Christian at captains school in Alabama and were reunited over here. They have flown missions together. They have spent personal time together as families. They will come to the house on Sunday to visit with their two girls. There are many Italian military people at the service. We are the last to leave. People still want to speak to her and let her know how much they will miss Christian and Elizabeth. This is a wonderful community here. They are tight knit and devoted to each other. Elizabeth must be exhausted, and I see the line is finished. But then I see her walking over to thank all the people to prepared and served the food. Thanking them for all the work and effort this reception took. I should not be surprised, she is thinking of others as she is walking through her own personal grief and agony. This is what she does. This is who she is. Thank you Father for my wonder daughter.

The company has framed the company flag, included a picture of Christian when he was flying a mission in Kosovo recently and has included words from each of the men in his unit. What a wonderful tribute.

Thank you Father for a mighty man of God, a wonderful husband, son, brother, friend.