Tag Archives: bronze-stars

Army Widow Cries Casket, Brings Facebook Together

The following video will make you cry, think and then cry all over again. It features a U.S. army widow breaking down in tears over her fallen husband's coffin after it touches down on an airport tarmac. The soldier inside is named Shawn Thomas – and the 35-year old Green Beret was killed in a car accident on February 2 while deployed in Niger, Africa. According to his obituary, Thomas shared four kids( Cheyenne, Taylor, Gavin and Natylyn)  with his wife, Tara Thomas. The family was based in Fort Bragg, North Carolina. Last Tuesday, Shawn's flag-draped coffin arrived at Raleigh-Durham International Airport in Morrisville, North Carolina. A passenger on the plane that carried the coffin, Lisa West Williams, was so moved by Tara's reaction upon seeing it that she filmed the scene and shared the footage on Facebook. She did so with Tara's permission. Even with her encouragement. “She wanted people to realize that this goes on every day,” Williams told WNCT-TV, adding: “There are many men and women that come home in a casket and they've made the ultimate sacrifice for us.” “It was heartbreaking,” Williams also told WNCT. “Never seen anything like it before.” The Facebook video, which depicts the cries of other passengers watching Tara say goodbye to her husband, has been viewed over eight million times. “It was an honor to fly home with this PATRIOT! God bless his wife and family. There was not a dry eye around me,” Williams wrote as a caption to it. Shawn – who was honored with two Bronze Stars and four Good Conduct Medals during his service – will be buried at Arlington National Cemetery. Watch the heartbreaking video below and then join us in giving thanks to every soldier out there:

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Army Widow Cries Casket, Brings Facebook Together

Sad Irony: Best Shooter In U.S. Military History And Author Of ‘American Sniper’ Shot And Killed At Texas Gun Range

Live and die by the gun… Chris Kyle Shot And Killed At Texas Gun Range Chris Kyle, author of the best-selling book, American Sniper: The Autobiography of the Most Lethal Sniper in U.S. Military History, was shot and killed at a Texas gun range Saturday. Via RadarOnline reports: The retired Navy Seal had 150 kills certified during four tours of duty in Iraq between 1999 and 2009. Many reports numbered his kills at up to 225. His longest certified lethal hit was from a distance of 1.2 miles. Kyle, 38, and a neighbor Chad Littlefield, 35, were both shot and killed Saturday afternoon on the gun range at the posh Rough Creek Lodge, not far from Glen Rose, Texas. The two men had taken another veteran, 25-year-old Eddie Ray Routh, there for the day in an effort to help him deal with his post traumatic stress syndrome, reports WFAA-TV. Multiple local news agencies are reporting that investigators have told them Routh turned his weapon on Kyle and Littlefield, killing them at point blank range. Routh then fled in Kyle’s car. He was pursued to a house in Lancaster, Texas by officers, including a local SWAT team. Routh tried to flee in a vehicle but was stopped about 9 pm after spikes were laid across a road, Erath County Sheriff Tommy Bryant told the Forth Worth Star Telegram. “The suspect has been caught and is in custody in Lancaster,” he said, adding that Erath County sheriff’s investigators and Texas Rangers were securing a capital murder warrant. Kyle was married and the father of two. He was wounded twice while in service and was awarded two Silver Stars. five Bronze Stars with Valor and numerous other commendations. Prayers sent up to the entire family. Terrible tragedy for all 3 families. RIP Chis Kyle an American hero and real American bad azz.

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Sad Irony: Best Shooter In U.S. Military History And Author Of ‘American Sniper’ Shot And Killed At Texas Gun Range