The view from the Idea Center

From the most somber of moments comes a most uplifting occurrence.

Tuesday night in Ashtabula County – thousands of people, by some estimates – took time away from their dinners, their movie-going, their streaming, and their watching the World Series to honor someone. Someone who many of them may have never known, but someone who mattered.

The remains of U.S. Army Sgt. Thomas Cole Walker (who was posthumously elevated to that rank) were greeted at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport by a military honor guard and first responders from Geauga, Lake and Ashtabula counties as he was escorted home.

Just 22, just married, and just beginning to serve his country, Walker died last week in Georgia, losing his life during a training accident at Fort Stewart.

The people of his hometown, from across Northeast Ohio and from places far beyond, journeyed to Conneaut because they wanted to say simply and by their presence “thank you for your sacrifice.”

Even in these difficult, politically-divisive times, nothing, NOTHING brings Americans together like the unexpected death of a member of our military.

Though they have each promised to lay down their lives if necessary, we honor those who complete that promise – often with bagpipes and parades, as in the case of Walker. We drop our flags halfway down their staffs, we hold hands over our hearts as the hearse passes by and we explain to our children what those fallen did, and meant, and supported.

Twitter today is full of pictures from people who attended the procession and vigil, their shared grief swollen by shared pride that Walker chose to serve and that he had been doing so since 2016.

His funeral is Saturday. Take time out at some point during that day to cherish not only his memory, but those lost previously. They died – for us.
 

I’ll talk you to you tomorrow morning…
Rick Jackson

Need to KnOH

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Your ideas

More than 80,000 Cuyahoga County voters will cast ballots at new polling places on Election Day. Do you know where your precinct votes this year? Or do you prefer to skip the Nov. 5 lines by voting early or mailing your ballot? Call us at  (216) 916-6476 or post on  our Facebook page. We'll feature some of your thoughts and comments here in Noon(ish) and on Morning Edition.