The Rerouted Skytress

Veterans Day is my favorite day of the year to fly. Since this is 2020 and everything seems to be out of wack, of course, I won’t be flying this Veterans Day. Normally on Veterans Day we hand out premium chocolates to all our passengers to celebrate the day. This year because of COVID-19, I’m almost certain we won’t be sharing a sweet treat on our flights. Our company usually has festivities to honor our large contingent of military veterans. These festivities have been postponed this year. Instead, celebrations will take place via Zoom. But, COVID-19 can’t stop me from writing a blog post to honor our Veterans. Sadly, it was pointed out to me years ago, that many Americans thank older veterans for their service. We are less consistent wishing younger veterans a Happy Veterans Day. I know I was guilty of this fact. I corrected the error of my ways that Veterans Day. If you are reading this blog post, and have served in the military, I want to thank you for your service and dedication to our country. You make me proud to be an American.

We can emulate many admirable traits from our Veterans.. Yes, these admirable attributes come under the headings of leadership, honor, and loyalty. But, there are other lesser known qualities we can emulate, too…..like organization skills, precision, and dedication to details. For me, a self-proclaimed organization-lover, I covet these traits I learned from dating men that served in the military. Years ago, I dated a pilot at our airline. He served in the Air Force. When I first saw his closet, I was blown away by what I saw. His clothes were spaced perfectly. His shirts were not only coordinated by color, they were also lined up based on the descending sleeve length. It was an epiphany moment for me. Then when I saw how his tools were organized, I was overjoyed. He had outlines for all his tools on his garage wall. In his 5-drawer tool chest, he had foam cutouts for where the tools were to be place. Simply amazing! I consciously tried to duplicate these details in my home. I know I did an admirable job. How do I know this? A former boyfriend I dated after the pilot told me so. When he saw my closet for the first time he said we would get along splendidly. He was a West Point graduate and had served in the Army. He was trained to be organized, too. I told him I learned my organizational skills from an Air Force guy. He winced a wee bit. But, there is a camaraderie between military people. He admired the pilot’s influence on me. I didn’t want to tell him this same Air Force boyfriend was awarded a bronze sculpture for rewriting our airline’s smoke in the cockpit procedures. He and another pilot used their military training to clear the smoke out of the cockpit when our airline’s procedures didn’t work. However, I did tell Mr. West Point, my favorite passenger of all times was General Norman Schwarzkopf. General Schwarzkopf was also a West Point graduate. Interestingly, the General”s wife, Brenda, was once a Skytress …..for TWA!!!

Mr. West Point also had me watch the mini-series, “Band of Brothers”. He wanted me to understand the brotherhood of those who have served in the military. Even though it is one of my favorite mini-series, I didn’t need to watch it to understand the bond between those who have served. I have the honor of witnessing it everyday. Especially at my airline. Whether it is interactions with my airline family or with our passengers, I see the beautiful military influence on active and retired veterans. A large majority of our pilots are veterans. When I was hired as a Skytress, it was rare to find a pilot that wasn’t military. I’m proud to say we have veterans in many departments at my airline. We have mechanics, ramp agents, customer service agents, reservation agents, and most definitely Skytresses and Skyters that are veterans. We have thousands, yes thousands, of veterans in various departments and positions at my airline. I’m proud to say many are still serving our country in active and voluntary roles. We have a dedicated group of veterans that serve as Honor Guards to meet fallen soldiers being escorted back home via our airline. We also have a group of dedicated veterans that send care packages around the world to those currently serving in the military. And when I say packages, I mean PACKAGES…..typically 70 big boxes per month. That’s a lot of boxes filled with military love!

I love to recognize military people flying on my flights. Both active and retired veterans. I always thank them for their service. Without fail, they always say it is,..or was,…an honor to serve. I am not the only one at my airline that likes to acknowledge our military servicemen and women. My heart leaps inside when a fellow employee recognizes our veterans. Many times we don’t realize what a simple act of acknowledgment can mean to someone….or a family. I learned this valuable lesson early on in my career. We were flying out of Washington D.C. early one morning. I was the Skytress In-Charge. We had many military men and women on board. I concluded my landing PA. by saying it was an honor to acknowledge the servicemen and women on our flight. I said on behalf of my crew and all the employees at our airline, we’d like to thank them for their service and dedication to our country. I prayed that wherever their military service took them….. it was a safe journey. The passengers applauded in recognition of our military passengers. As the passengers deplaned in Cincinnati, I held a beautiful wooden American flag case. I had placed the encased flag in my closet for safe keeping for a family that had just buried their son at Arlington. When the soldier’s parents were deplaning, I handed them their flag. I offered them my condolences again. The soldier’s mother stood before me and thanked me for making the PA. It meant a lot to her. She said when she saw all the military passengers on our flight, she also said a prayer that they would stay out of harms way. She hoped when I said my PA that the passengers on our flight also said a prayer for our soldiers. It would be their “gift” in honor of her son. I think about this soldier’s family more times than I can count. I pray their days are filled with peace and love.

Each branch of the military has a creed by which the servicemen and women live and serve by. These oaths are not only honored while in service, they are honored all their lives. I mentioned earlier that my company has a Honor Guard of veterans to greet the the planes escorting fallen soldiers. However, not all cities have this Honor Guard. But, that doesn’t stop our veterans in other cities from honoring those fallen soldiers. One day I was sitting in the gatehouse in Cincinnati. I went up extra early to have a moment of peace while waiting for our plane to arrive. I noticed a group of ramp agents riding on tugs towards my gate. They were coming from different directions and from different concourses. I was curious as to why they were all coming over to meet the plane. I could see the ramp crew working the flight was already in place. After the aircraft was parked, a funeral hearse pulled up to the back of the airplane. The ramp agents lined both sides of the luggage beltloader. As a flag-covered coffin was unloaded from the cargo compartment, the all stood saluting. Each ramp agent spoke with the military escort accompanying the fallen soldier after the body was placed in the hearse. I looked around the gatehouse. I was the only one to bear witness to this impromptu ceremony. I was overwhelmed with pride for our ramp agents. They may have traded their military uniforms in for airline uniforms, but, they were still serving their fellow soldiers.

The heart of a soldier is extraordinary. I had the privilege to hear a fellow Skyter’s soldier story two years ago at a company-wide meeting. Employees from various departments attended a program so we could have a better understanding of each department’s role at our airline. Yes, knowledge is power. One of the moderators was speaking about going above and beyond what is expected in your job description and the ultimate impact it will have on others. The moderator asked if anyone in the assembly would like to share a moment of unexpected kindness bestowed upon them and how it affected them. A Skyter raised his hand and told us his story. He was a medic in the military going overseas on deployment. He was on one of our airline’s military charter flights. It was late at night and all of his fellow soldiers were sleeping. He could not sleep. He had this prevailing thought bouncing around in his head and heart. He knew he and his soldiers were going to encounter difficult situations. He knew some of his soldiers were going to get hurt. He was confident that he was thoroughly trained to help and ultimately save the lives of those men and women. In practical terms, he also knew he wouldn’t be able to save everyone. This weighed heavily on his heart. A Skytress on his flight noticed he was the only one not sleeping. She invited him to come to the back galley to talk. She asked him his name. He replied with his military rank and last name. She smiled and asked him what his Momma called him. He told her. He also told her why he couldn’t sleep. She asked him if he would like to pray with her to ease his troubled mind. He told us he wasn’t very religious, but, he felt a prayer couldn’t hurt. He said she held his hand and prayed for him and his soldiers. When she was done, she took her wings off her uniform and placed them in his hand. She told him whenever he was overwhelmed with worry and concern on his deployment, he was to hold on to the wings and know she was praying for him. He said when he left the military he knew he wanted to come work for our company because of the kindness of the Skytress. We are blessed to have him as part of our airline family. He is another incredible example of the thousands of veterans that our airplane employs. His dedication to serving his fellow soldiers has parlayed into his dedication to our company and our passengers. He not only has an extraordinary soldier’s heart, he now has an extraordinary Skyter’s heart.

I know you all have extraordinary hearts, too. I know this Wednesday you will reach out to your family members and friends that have served in the military. I know you will call, text or send an email to wish them a Happy Veterans Day. This is my plan, too. I will, also, say a prayer to those that served that are no longer with us. I am certain they will hear my prayers in Heaven. You may have noticed I haven’t used an apostrophe in the spelling of Veterans Day. I take my lead from the United States Department of Veterans Affairs. They choose to use the possessive case for their official spelling, “because it is not a day that ‘belongs’ to veterans, it a day for honoring all veterans.” I could not have said it better. It has been my privilege to honor ALL our veterans in this blog post today. Happy Veterans Day everyone!