Belmont Shore-Naples, CA --
A handful of planes flew over the Joint Forces Training Base![ext]()
Thursday morning, but to the 1,000 people gathered to honor a fallen soldier, only one truly mattered.
With the peal of jet engines piercing the silent crowd, the aircraft carrying the body of Sgt. Thomas R. MacPherson, a Long Beach native and Los Alamitos High School![ext]()
alum killed in battle in Afghanistan, touched down at 11:45 a.m.
Before the aircraft landed, a crowd of veterans, current soldiers, local dignitaries, friends, family and local residents gathered on the tarmac with flags whipping in the breeze.
James Smith, commander of Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 7243, said he appreciated the people who came to honor MacPherson because, he said, sometimes the public doesn’t remember the service of their armed forces.
“After the shootings done, then they forget about the military, so it’s nice to see this (turnout)."
A collection of emergency vehicles, motorcycles and police vehicles gathered. A large American flag hung in the breeze from one of the base's fire engines.
Then the white jet landed, and the crowd fell silent.
The door of the jet opened, and the crew set up the machinery to lower MacPherson to the tarmac.
The 26-year-old was honored by a sea of salutes: Members of the Army Rangers, the California National Guard and the Army Reserves, and local firefighters and veterans put their hands to their heads to honor MacPherson.
Family members walked toward the casket, a shining silver coffin draped in the red, white and blue of the American flag.
A man carried MacPherson’s young son,17-moth-old Brayden. Family members put their hands on each other backs. In the silence, they wept openly. MacPherson’s wife Claudia took her son and stood close to the coffin for a few moments, the tears pouring down.
An Army honor guard of eight soldiers carried the casket to a black hearse.
After the Hero Mission ceremony, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department motorcycle officers led a procession to the Forest Lawn cemetery in Cypress.
The flag of every American state hung along the base’s main road, and the Patriot Guard Riders![ext]()
, a group of veterans the honor members of the military, followed the procession on their motorbikes, American flags flapping on the back of their bikes.
A crowd of police cars and emergency vehicles followed the riders. Hundreds of students and residents gathered outside Los Alamitos High School to watch the procession pass.
Maria Cowles of Seal Beach said her father was an Air force Major in World War II and her husband is a Vietnam vet, and she felt it was important to honor MacPherson.
She said her son Patrick attended school with MacPherson: first, McCauliffe Elementary![ext]()
and later Los Alamitos High School.
She said her son didn't know him very well, but if she could speak to the family she would say simply this:
“Thank you for the sacrifice,” Cowles said. “He’ll be in our hearts and the family will be in our prayers and thoughts.”
MacPherson, 26, was killed by small arms fire in the Ghazni Province in Afghanistan as he led an assault against an enemy position, U.S. Army officials said.
MacPherson was a team leader assigned to Delta Company, 2nd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash. This was his fourth deployment to Afghanistan and he had also previously served one deployment in Iraq. He is survived by his wife and their son of Tacoma, Wash., and his parents, Troy and Diona MacPherson of Long Beach.
Funeral services will be held at 10 a.m. Oct. 26 at Cottonwood Church at 4505 Katella Ave, Los Alamitos, CA 90720. Reported by Patch 2 hours ago.
A handful of planes flew over the Joint Forces Training Base
Thursday morning, but to the 1,000 people gathered to honor a fallen soldier, only one truly mattered.With the peal of jet engines piercing the silent crowd, the aircraft carrying the body of Sgt. Thomas R. MacPherson, a Long Beach native and Los Alamitos High School
alum killed in battle in Afghanistan, touched down at 11:45 a.m.Before the aircraft landed, a crowd of veterans, current soldiers, local dignitaries, friends, family and local residents gathered on the tarmac with flags whipping in the breeze.
James Smith, commander of Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 7243, said he appreciated the people who came to honor MacPherson because, he said, sometimes the public doesn’t remember the service of their armed forces.
“After the shootings done, then they forget about the military, so it’s nice to see this (turnout)."
A collection of emergency vehicles, motorcycles and police vehicles gathered. A large American flag hung in the breeze from one of the base's fire engines.
Then the white jet landed, and the crowd fell silent.
The door of the jet opened, and the crew set up the machinery to lower MacPherson to the tarmac.
The 26-year-old was honored by a sea of salutes: Members of the Army Rangers, the California National Guard and the Army Reserves, and local firefighters and veterans put their hands to their heads to honor MacPherson.
Family members walked toward the casket, a shining silver coffin draped in the red, white and blue of the American flag.
A man carried MacPherson’s young son,17-moth-old Brayden. Family members put their hands on each other backs. In the silence, they wept openly. MacPherson’s wife Claudia took her son and stood close to the coffin for a few moments, the tears pouring down.
An Army honor guard of eight soldiers carried the casket to a black hearse.
After the Hero Mission ceremony, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department motorcycle officers led a procession to the Forest Lawn cemetery in Cypress.
The flag of every American state hung along the base’s main road, and the Patriot Guard Riders
, a group of veterans the honor members of the military, followed the procession on their motorbikes, American flags flapping on the back of their bikes.A crowd of police cars and emergency vehicles followed the riders. Hundreds of students and residents gathered outside Los Alamitos High School to watch the procession pass.
Maria Cowles of Seal Beach said her father was an Air force Major in World War II and her husband is a Vietnam vet, and she felt it was important to honor MacPherson.
She said her son Patrick attended school with MacPherson: first, McCauliffe Elementary
and later Los Alamitos High School.She said her son didn't know him very well, but if she could speak to the family she would say simply this:
“Thank you for the sacrifice,” Cowles said. “He’ll be in our hearts and the family will be in our prayers and thoughts.”
MacPherson, 26, was killed by small arms fire in the Ghazni Province in Afghanistan as he led an assault against an enemy position, U.S. Army officials said.
MacPherson was a team leader assigned to Delta Company, 2nd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash. This was his fourth deployment to Afghanistan and he had also previously served one deployment in Iraq. He is survived by his wife and their son of Tacoma, Wash., and his parents, Troy and Diona MacPherson of Long Beach.
Funeral services will be held at 10 a.m. Oct. 26 at Cottonwood Church at 4505 Katella Ave, Los Alamitos, CA 90720. Reported by Patch 2 hours ago.