My heart broke today - Democratic Underground

Dickster

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Sun Feb-10-08 12:20 AM
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My heart broke today

I attended the funeral for Sergeant First Class Matthew Kahler today in Granite Falls Minnesota. He was 29 years old and died of wounds suffered in Afghanistan on January 26, 2008. He was a member of the 2nd Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment (Airborne), 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team. Matt was on his third deployment to the Middle East.
It was about as bitter cold a day as it gets up here in western Minnesota, about 2 degrees above zero and a howling 35 mile per hour wind out of the northwest. I'm guessing about 50 Patriot Guards stood outside the Granite Falls Lutheran Church holding American flags in the most miserable conditions you can imagine. They've been out there since Wednesday when Matt's body arrived in town.
I barely knew Matt, but I knew his father and step-mother. I had the privilege of singing in the choir today, so I had a birds eye view from the choir loft of the ceremony. Our church is fairly large, it hold abut 450 people in the sanctuary. The whole left side of the church was filled with current or retired military people and their spouses, most of them dressed in their military dress uniforms. The basement of the church was full a well. Probably the biggest turnout for a funeral in the history of our church.
I don't think I've ever experienced the kind of emotion that I did today. The presentation of two Bronze Stars, and two Purple Hearts to Matt's widow and parents was very touching. The eulogy by one of Matt's fellow Rangers, one of his best friends was both inspiring and heart-rending. Matt was a very special individual, one who was willing to die for his country, someone who knew that he probably would die in combat. Yet he went willingly, led his men into combat. He was killed as he led, he was at the front of the column of men he was leading when he was ambushed and killed. He left behind a widow and a daughter four years old.
Singing a song in the choir at a funeral is a very difficult thing. Your emotions run wild. Tears come to your eyes and it's hard to see the music and your throat swells up and you don't think that you can get through the song, but somehow you buck up and get through it and it sounds great. You end up spent at the end of the song. And then a Scottish bag pipe started up it's drone and Amazing Grace begins to be played and my God, I thought my whole emotional innards were going to come right up out of me and out of my throat.
It felt as if someone had reached down inside of me and was pulling me apart.
During the funeral, a recording of a Scottish song was played, a very touching and quiet song, I don't remember the name of it, it was about some meadow in Scotland. Sitting up in the choir loft, I noticed that Matt's daughter was wandering a little bit in the front row, of the church and stood closer to her fathers casket. I didn't give it much thought. Afterward, at the lunch in the high school gym, I was talking to Matt's stepmother, expressing my condolences and commenting on the poignancy of the service. She commented that she had been ok until Matt's daughter had wandered up toward the casket and sang along with the recording. She said Matt had taught that song to his daughter as he would rock her to sleep. Well that did me in. I cried most of the way home. I cried as I described the funeral to my wife. I'm crying as I write this.
I have some strong opinions about this war, I hate it. But thats not what this rant is about. A young man, one of our best, has lost his life and left behind a grieving widow and a daughter and parents and a community with a broken heart. Absolutely broken.