Hundreds line streets to honor fallen airman

This blog has been following the story of Senior Airman Bradley Smith, who was killed in Afghanistan on January 3 near Kandahar. Smith, who was 24, is from Troy, Illinois, and had just become the proud father of a baby girl, Chloe Lynn, who was born in October. By all accounts, he was universally liked and respected for his kindness and dedication to God and country. His brother, Ryan Smith, is an airman based in Texas.

On Saturday, despite temperatures of about 13 degrees, the southwest Illinois community lined the streets in impressive, patriotic fashion to honor their hometown hero, as his flag-draped casket arrived home for a Sunday memorial service and Monday burial. The Belleville News-Democrat, which has done an admirable job covering this story, reported on Saturday's motorcade.

Larry Eckhardt drove down from Galesburg to bring 530 American flags to Troy for Smith's homecoming and funeral. Eckhardt, 53, has been providing patriotic displays of American flags at the funeral's of fallen military personnel for four years. Last year, he put up flags for 14 funerals.

Eckhardt is not a veteran. He doesn't get paid to haul his flags to small towns to honor dead heroes. He buys the flags and makes the trips out of his own pocket.

"To me, it's necessary," he said. "I have the greatest amount of respect for anyone who serves and I felt that this was something that needed to be done. It's an honor to do it and I wish I could do more."

Smith's death is incredibly tragic and we all mourn for his family, especially his wife, Tiffany, and infant daughter. Yet it is hard not to be encouraged by selfless acts of kindness and national pride by people like Eckhardt, who didn't know the fallen airman. It serves as a reminder that America remains the strongest nation on earth. Despite the lack of daily consciousness in the media about the war effort, the sacrifice of SrA. Bradley Smith speaks for itself. And the community of Troy, Illinois, braved frigid conditions yesterday to prove it.

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