A Patriot

When Joe and I visited the cemetery last Sunday, we saw several people decorating a grave. I thought it was a soldier who might have died in Iraq and his family was remembering him on 9/11.

I went to visit Ray today, and then I always drive by Alice’s (Joe’s wife) niche, she’s in a columbarium, and after I pass her, I usually take the first turn and drive down that road to the leave the cemetery.

As I was coming up on that turn, I decided to go straight and see the grave that was so lovingly decorated.

Well, imagine my surprise when I saw it was the grave of Tom Burnett, who was one of people who broke into the cockpit of Flight 93 which crashed in Shanksville, PA.

Of course, his family would be there on 9/11 to decorate his grave. His parents live in the Twin Cities area and so it would make sense he would have a grave at Fort Snelling National Cemetery.

There’s no body at Fort Snelling. They never found any bodies of the people on Flight 93. The plane was pulverized on impact and only a handful of vertebras were found and I believe those were buried last week at the Shanksville memorial.

I started crying when I saw whose grave it was. Gee, I never even cry when I visit Ray anymore. But I touched the headstone and thanked him for “saving our country.”

I’ve been coming to Fort Snelling at least weekly for three and a half years and never thought of looking for graves of “famous” people. I just stay the course and visit Ray and my grandparents and Alice. Joe lost his best friend last year and I’ll stop and visit him once in a while.

All these people I visit are ordinary people.

I guess Tom Burnett was, too, but he became extraordinary when he needed to be.