Ken Ifland went with his father Jim, a retired Air Force colonel, to Arlington National Cemetery last year. They were there to honor Jim’s longtime Air Force friend. It was one of the only times that Ken saw his father cry.
“I just remember my dad, bending down and putting his hand on that coffin and crying,” Ken told Military.com earlier this month. “This was a dear friend of his that was now gone, and he was there to tell him goodbye.”
Jim himself passed away in December at the age of 93. Starting out as an enlisted service member, his 30-year military legacy was marked by at least three volunteer tours to Vietnam; special reconnaissance operations — at one point, racking up 52 combat missions; and work on secret satellite programs key for targeting in the 1970s, among numerous other accolades.
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“My dad was an air commando, he was a warrior, he was a patriot,” Ken said. “And he was a great father.”
Both Jim and Ken were struck by the solemn salutes from troops, the folding of the American flag, bugled “Taps” echoing off the headstones — and the rhythmic clip-clop of the military horses that punctuate the silence of the caisson procession to a final resting place at Arlington.
It was an indelible moment for both of them near the sunset of Jim’s life. Afterward, Jim made it clear to Ken that, when his time came, he wanted…
