Pilgrimage (The New World) (17 page)

On Monday morning the entire family ventured over to Fort Hood for the funeral, and Ross became displeased that there were a few members of the media in attendance. As the honor guard moved Robert’s coffin from the base chapel to the actual grave site, Ross had another flashback to the days of Grandpa Hank. He remembered the day of that funeral twenty-four years prior as if it were yesterday, and now he was seated between the same two people for another solemn event.

Now a man of thirty-five, he had a family of his own, and was very happy with all aspects of his life. He and his sister were both successful with their chosen path in life, his wife had given him the gift of two beautiful daughters, and he was one of only fourteen humans to set foot on the surface of the Moon.

Ross remembered when his father Robert had presented him with the flag from Grandpa Hank’s coffin, and had requested that Ross perform a similar act with Robert’s flag when the time came. Like it or not that time was now upon him, and he stood to salute the Army officer before accepting the flag presented to him on behalf of a grateful nation. His oldest daughter Aurora would need to remain strong for another moment or two, and that would be the most difficult aspect of the task. She was about three years younger than Ross had been when he received Grandpa Hank’s flag, and she did not have the same closeness to her grandfather that Ross had enjoyed with his.

Ross stood in front of Aurora with the American flag tucked under his arm. In accordance with strictest military tradition the flag had been folded into a triangle shape with only the white stars on the blue background visible, and such a flag should always be treated with the upmost respect. Aurora liked the way her daddy looked in his dress white Navy uniform, with a few medals, ribbons, and the three gold stripes signifying his rank of Commander on each shoulder board. He had told her before that the gold pattern on the brim of his cap was another way of identifying his rank, but she could refer to them as scrambled eggs because that was what most other people called them.

He smiled and winked at Aurora as he motioned for her to stand up, while her grandmother Elizabeth prodded her with a little encouraging nudge. Earlier that morning Ross had showed Aurora how to salute before receiving the flag, and they had practiced just enough to make sure she had mastered it without the task becoming boring. She performed her duty perfectly without shedding a tear, which was more than could be said for her mother, grandmother, or aunt, and Ross leaned over to tell her what a great job she had done while also asking her to keep the flag safe. She verbally agreed to do so and placed the flag safely in her lap as she sat back down.

With that Ross let out a sigh of relief at knowing that the promise to his father of many years ago had been fulfilled, and he could now turn his attention to the upcoming funeral of his old friend Dennis.

LESS THAN THREE
hours after the completion of his father’s funeral, Ross caught a flight from Fort Hood to Cape Canaveral to attend the service for his fellow astronaut Dennis Strickland. It had already been a long and tiring day, but he had a few last minute details to go over with his superiors and the secret service for the event that was scheduled to take place the following morning. Tuesday would indeed be a busy day, as NASA would put on their best show in a salute to one of their fallen heroes for what would probably be a world audience, and then place the body on a plane bound for Colorado.

In spite of an offer by NASA and the Navy to bury Dennis at Arlington National Cemetery with a view of the National Mall, the Strickland family had decided to have Dennis rest within the family plot back in his home town of Woodland Park, Colorado. Many generations of their family had been buried there, and they wanted their brightest star to join them. The service was scheduled for Wednesday morning, and Ross felt sorrow for the Strickland family and the town who would most assuredly have their peace and quiet disrespected by the media.

It was a beautiful day along the Florida coastline as the large crowd of dignitaries gathered in honor of Navy Lieutenant Dennis Strickland, and the world media was predictably there in mass. Ross had a significantly larger role in these proceedings than those at his father’s service the previous day, as he would be introducing and shaking the hands of some major power brokers. The crowd rose to its feet and applauded as Ross introduced the President of the United States, and then settled back into their seats for the ensuing speech. Ross followed that by introducing the Secretary of the Navy for a shorter speech, and then the senior NASA administrator so he could also have a turn. In each case the large bank of cameras hummed as he fired off a salute before receiving a firm handshake.

Ross concluded the speeches with a tribute of fond memories he and Dennis had enjoyed together from their early days at the Naval Academy, up through the events of the Moon mission. A twenty-one gun salute was followed by a formation of fighter planes that flew low overhead. As they passed overhead one of them peeled up and away from the formation to signify the loss of Dennis, and Ross once again snapped to attention. The American flag from the coffin was folded perfectly as in other military services, but this time Ross had to present it on behalf of a grateful nation to a grieving mother.

When Ross had first met Dennis during their Naval Academy days, he learned that his friend was born and raised in Colorado. As their friendship developed, it had been mentioned several times that Ross should someday visit Dennis’ hometown at the base of the Rocky Mountains. Ross was saddened by the fact that through sixteen years of friendship with Dennis, and having met his parents on a few occasions, the timing had never seemed quite right for him to make that visit to Colorado. Now he was faced with visiting Woodland Park for the first time, and it was to bury his best friend.

As the plane transporting Dennis landed at Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado Springs, Ross caught his first glimpse of the surrounding landscape. He turned to Mr. & Mrs. Strickland on the opposite side of the aisle to see how they were doing, while offering an opinion of how beautiful the area was. It had indeed been a long day for the Strickland’s, and the next day wouldn’t be any easier. The motorcade moved through Colorado Springs and then northwest along Highway 24 to Woodland Park. With the aid of a police escort the distance was covered quickly, and something else about Dennis now became clear to Ross. He had inquired many years before why Dennis hadn’t attended the Air Force Academy instead of Annapolis, but had been told it was because he wanted to spread his wings. Now that made perfect sense to Ross, as the town of Woodland Park couldn’t have been much more than twenty miles away from the Air Force Academy grounds.

The following morning Ross sat next to the Strickland family just as he had done for the larger service back at Cape Canaveral. Along with a large group of family members, many friends and members of the local community had come to the service to pay their respects for Dennis, but the Governor of Colorado had been denied access. Ross understood their decision, and now their political influence. The Strickland family had been through enough of the pomp, and the Governor probably just wanted to get some free publicity.

The service was quiet, and Ross was impressed that the small contingent of media in attendance was fairly respectful. A few of them did manage to get close to Ross after the service for some questions about the Strickland family, but he handled the situation calmly by saying “They, and the nation, had lost a bright and dedicated talent at far too young of an age!”

ON THE EVENING
of Wednesday December 4
^th
, Ross returned to Houston and the much needed awaiting arms of Patty and the girls after what had been a circus of a week. Since his return to Earth nine days earlier, Ross had been in seemingly constant motion for the sake of three services that represented funerals for two people who had been a significant influence in his life. In terms of distance, the multiple flights and road trips paled in comparison to his recent journey to the Moon and back, but in many ways it had been much more exhausting.

During a significant portion of the aforementioned time, Ross had been in some sort of spotlight with the media for a variety of reasons. They had painted him as a hero of the first manned mission to the Moon in over a decade, the grieving son of a dying military father who had “somehow held on” until Ross’ triumphant return, and then the grieving commanding officer and friend of a fallen astronaut. Ross couldn’t believe how easily the world media had turned his life into a daytime television drama in such a short time.

NASA had been incredible in their support of Ross during the entire process, and had held off on some of the mission debriefing until the proverbial dust had settled. They did however want to speak with him at length the following morning, but promised him that after the full debriefing he could have thirty days leave. Ross knew he would be able to spend the Christmas and New Year’s holidays with his family before returning to the office, but it would also give him time to keep his promise to Aurora. His now eight year-old daughter had been very patient with him since his return from the Moon, and she had shown her maturity when dealing with the wishes of her grandfather at the funeral. She and Ross had a handshake deal to go anywhere she wanted because he was on the Moon for her birthday, and Ross was fully committed to keeping that promise.

Just over a week later, Aurora got her birthday wish when she and her dad were joined by her mother and little sister for three days of fun at the beach on nearby Galveston Island. Ross wasn’t really sure if it was a present for Aurora or for him, as three days alone with his family away from the still lingering media was fantastic. It was just what he needed to clear his mind from all the recent events, as the four of them had a wonderful long weekend on the beach. They built big sandcastles and splashed about in the water by day, and looked intently at the Moon while stargazing at night.