As the morning broke, Arlington was covered with white snow. Out of place, I thought, on a day of such sadness. The family gathered outside the Chapel in Ft. Myers. There we would bid farwell and pay a final tribute to Dad. As we drove up to the Old Ft. Myer Chapel, the young military guards were already standing at the entrance. It seemed we were arriving to share someone else's grief, not our own. Dad was being laid to rest as an honored servant to his country.
At the memorial service, Nancy, Joanne, Johnathan and Robert spoke eloquent of Dad. Robert, shared a stirring homily, and reflected on Dad's compassion, resilience, and love for his family and the military code of honor he taught all of us.
"It is my honor to stand here today, on the alter of this beautiful Chapel, to tell you about my father.
My father was a humble man; a good Christian; a man who always greeted you with a smile. He was a loyal husband to his wife, Nora; a good father to his six children; and a good role model for his grandchildren.
My father was an honorable man; a man of character and unquestionable integrity. The words "Duty, Honor, Country" were not meaningless words to him. He lived by the meaning of these words everyday; always seeing his duty, living by a code of personal honor, and loving his country with a deep sense of patriotism.
There is a monument at the United States Air Force Academy that reads: "Man's flight through life is sustained by the power of his knowledge." My father believed in the meaning of these words long before they were written in stone. Throughout his life he was dedicated to the pursuit of knowledge; attending several graduate schools over the years and becoming a man of letters. As liaison officer to the Academy my father represented the ideals and principles of the United States Air Force with pride. And, in his death, he surrenders his body to the loving care of his fellow brothers and sisters in arms.
Each of us here today loved and respected my father. We will all miss his sense of humor, his unquestionable love, his loyal friendship, and his physical presence.
Please remember him fondly in your prayers".
By Robert Tyszkowski
Filing out of the chapel, we followed the U.S. Air Force Band, The Old Guard and Honor Platoon as they escorted the hearse (turns out that the caisson got loose just before the service was to begin. Just like Dad, always a prankster) carrying the flag-draped remains of Col. Walter Tyszkowski, to his final resting place. The soulful beating of the drums announced to the gathering crowd the loss of one of the nation's finest servants.
The Missing Cassions are Found and Pay There Respects
As we wound our way through Arlington National Cemetary and General Lee's own backyard, the sound of the band came faintly to our ears. We caught glimpses of the Honor Guard and their flag-draped companion through the trees and headstones. When the Honor Guard halted, we all came to pay our last respects to a fallen hero, a husband, a father, a friend.
There were twenty four young men standing in three rows by eight; and the band of that number again. On the other side of the yard stood seven more men, rifles at the ready. With precision, they removed Dad and took him around and placed him on the groud, and stood at attention on each side of Dad. The honor guard presented a salute. In back, the firing squad who would present a 21 gun salute stood ready for the command. The first volley caused a tightening in my stomach, and I flinched even though I knew it was coming; it was a single shot, as were the next two volleys. The firing squad was honed to perfection, acting as one.
On the other side of the street, a lone bugular stood as Taps echoed after the last volley report faded. The young soldiers before us were at attention and unmoving. Then the band played slowly a few haunting bars of The Hymn, letting it fade into the breeze in the trees.
The flag was taken off Dad and folded into a perfect triangle and would hand it off to Robert who accepted it on behalf of Mom who did not make the trip. The Assistant to the Secetary of Defense presented the flag to Robert and knelt down on one knee and bowed her head for a short moment.
One by one each of the solders marched away and left a lone officer standing guard over Dad, where we all layed a single white or red rose on the top of casket.
"Or-der Arms!"
"Sergeant Major!"
The Major, with his gleaming saber, salutes his Officer and assumes command. Executing a text book
about-face he issues his first order.
"Ri-ight Face!"
"For-ward March!"
The young men marched away, leaving the warrior to his heavenly fate. Dad is now with the other soldiers who went before him, and those who have left this world after serving our Country. In his memoir's my Dad wrote these words in his final chapter, "Old soldiers never die, they just fade away." And so, goes my memoir of the days at OCS which I will always cherish". We will miss you Dad.
