Hell on Earth

Blind_Io said:
Tonight, at about 8 PM local time, my father passed away. The exact cause is unknown but it was either very quick or in his sleep, as he did not press his call-light for the nurse. The nurses had seen him only 15 minutes earlier and by the time they returned to help him reposition himself he had already passed away.

He is survived by his wife and two adult children. He was 59 years old.

Dr. Steven A. Rathofer, Col. (Ret.), US Army, DMD, MS.
Father, Husband, Friend
He left his mark upon us all.
Click to expand...

It's been a while I looked in this thread...but damn, I'm sorry to hear about that.
Best wishes to you and yours in this time.
 
Dave, just been catching up on threads and I've just seen this - I'm really really sorry to hear this news; you have my deepest condolences. A real shock after things seemed to be getting better before the New Year...

Best wishes to you and your family...
 
We had my dad's funeral today. The Army sent a full honor guard from Ft. Carson, Colorado. The honor guard included a gun salute (three volleys, they even gave us their spent brass; my dad would have liked that) and a bugler in addition to the flag detail. They were all very, very professional and would have made my dad proud. There was not a ribbon or emblem out of place on any of the honor guards' dress blues and every movement was perfect. They were the very model of the best our military has to offer. I could tell they felt honored to be the guard of a distinguished officer.

There is a shortage of buglers in the military, it's a dying art. I don't know where they found an actual bugler, but they did. Sometimes they just play a recording of taps through the PA system or have a speaker hidden inside the bugle so it only looks like the soldier is playing - but not for my dad, the Army sent the real deal.

The Sergent Major presented the folded flag to my mother, "on behalf of a grateful nation." We will have it framed and displayed beside my Grandfather's flag in the music room (my dad's favorite room on the house), I just hope it is a good long time before I have to put my brother's flag beside it.
 
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I haven't been following this thread but my thoughts go out to you and your family.
I'm glad the military did your father proud.
 
Nice to see he got some recognition from the military.
 
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