So last night in my photo-communications lab, we viewed a photo-story to give us somewhat of an idea or inspiration to an upcoming assignment. I really didn’t think it’d be too interesting, but boy was I wrong. This story gave me the chills, as the last photo showed up, I couldn’t help but to feel complete sympathy. Life is tough, and we should appreciate our peers everyday, for we never know when we might be separated eternally.
Below is the last photograph of the photo-story and the caption that went along with it.
Caption:
“Katherine Cathey was expecting a phone call from her husband, Marine 2nd. Lt. Jim Cathey, so she could tell him if their baby would be a boy or a girl. Instead, she got a knock at the door — the knock every military family dreads. When his body finally arrived at the airport in the Marine’s hometown of Reno, Katherine never wanted to leave his side. ‘You take for granted the last night you spend with them,’ she said. ‘I think I took it for granted. This was the last night I’ll have to sleep next to him.’ She said about her all night vigil by Jim’s casket the night before his burial. Major Steve Beck prepares for the final inspection of 2nd Lt. James J. Cathey’s body, only days after notifying Cathey’s wife of the Marine’s death in Iraq. “
The night before the burial of her husband’s body, Katherine Cathey refused to leave the casket, asking to sleep next to his body for the last time. The Marines made a bed for her, tucking in the sheets below the flag. Before she fell asleep, she opened her laptop computer and played songs that reminded her of ‘Cat,’ and one of the Marines asked if she wanted them to continue standing watch as she slept. “I think it would be kind of nice if you kept doing it,” she said. “I think that’s what he would have wanted.”
(via soupsoup)
