JONATHAN MARKHAM KNEW the protocol for Army funerals. The 22 year-old corporal had received the honor of serving on a burial detail at the Dallas Fort-Worth National Cemetery. And so he knew not only how it was done, but had done it himself...
The flag drapes the casket to honor the memory of the fallen's service, placed so that the blue field with stars is at the head and over the left shoulder of the deceased.
Taps is played, and then the flag carefully folded into the symbolic tri-cornered shape. The flag folds 13 times on the triangles, representing the original American colonies in its folds and the three-cornered hat worn by the Patriots in its final shape. When folded, only a blue field with stars is seen.
The flag is then presented to the grieving. In the Army the presenter says, "This flag is presented on behalf of a grateful nation and the United States Army as a token of appreciation for your loved one's honorable and faithful service".
'On behalf of a grateful nation'. Perhaps those were the words that had Cpl Markham thinking, and telling his wife his wishes.
JONATHAN MARKHAM WAS BORN IN THE SPRING of 1985 in Manitowoc, Wisconsin. His was an Army family, and so he got to see a bit of the world as he grew: first Germany as a two year-old, then Arizona, then finally Texas where he graduated from Sam Houston High School in Arlington.
He enlisted in 2004, and was deployed to Iraq as a cavalry scout. Though a scout may be assigned many different responsibilities, the job is difficult and dangerous -- requiring top physical conditioning and an additional 9 weeks specialized training. The primary duty is reconnaissance, and the scout is known as the 'eyes and ears' of the battlefield commander.
And Corporal Markham was damned good at it. At 22, he was about to be promoted to Sargent -- the third highest level in a four-level system. The level at which a scout is entrusted with training other men to become warriors: the level from which Drill Sergeants are drawn.
His first deployment had lasted six months. When he got back to Texas he married Stacey, his high school sweetheart. And before he redeployed in October, they shared the joy of the birth of their son Daniel.
He talked to Stacey of his dreams, of being able to stay home and being a full-time dad. But he also proudly knew his responsibilities to his family and so he re-enlisted even as he was being redeployed. It wasn't only so he could continue to support Stacey as she finished college, though that was an important part. It was also because he had a duty to his men still there.
"They have such a brotherhood," Stacey says. "They have seen things that we will never understand."
AT THE BEGINNING OF LAST WEEK AN OH-68 KIOWA helicopter with a crew of two was shot down near Muqdadiyah in the insurgent hell that is known as Diyala province. On a computer screen at a command center 800 miles away the message was relayed in bright type: "We have a downed helo."
It was "1421 Zulu," 6:21 p.m. Baghdad time. Two Air Force F-16s were ordered to the scene but were low on fuel, and so two Navy F-18s were sent to 'overwatch' instead. A Predator unmanned drone was launched and within minutes was sending live video as it searched for the downed copter. And a 'quick reaction force' was ordered to head to the scene.
Heading one of the crews of six Bradleys and Humvees dispatched to the rescue was Jonathan Markham.
NO ONE CAN KNOW what he was thinking at the time. The day before he had ordered flowers for Stacey's birthday this Monday, a full week ahead. He also sent her an email.
"He never sent e-mails," she said. "When I got one, I cherished it. The last one he sent just summed up so perfectly our lives."
And then, on the way out the door to the rescue he did something he had never done before. He told his two best friends that he loved them.
And so no one can know what he was thinking, even if he had had a premonition, on that day when he died, caught with five others by an IED laid as a trap for any attempted rescue.
But if he had a premonition, he may also have been thinking of a request he made of his wife back when he was serving on a burial detail at the Dallas Fort-Worth National Cemetery.
He asked that if anything happened to him, he be buried there. And he asked his wife to ask President Bush to attend his funeral.
"He wanted the president to see the cost of war, to know that the men are not just numbers, that there’s a face and a family behind that number," she said.
JONATHAN MARKHAM WAS LAID TO REST TODAY, at the Dallas-Fort Worth National Cemetery, just down the hill from Dallas Baptist University, where his wife graduated only three weeks ago.
And Stacey Markham received her flag, given on behalf of a grateful nation.
Needless to say, the President was otherwise engaged, unaware of the dual ironies that on the day Jonathan Markham died, the President had given a speech wherein he said, "They did not want war, but they answered the call when it came", and that on that day he had laid a wreath at the tomb of the 'unknown' soldier.
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This diary by Spread the Word: Iraq-Nam, a daily blog on Iraq.