On Friday, thousands of Omahans lined the streets to help pay tribute to a fallen Marine. Cpl. Daegan Page was one of thirteen Americans killed in the chaotic aftermath of America’s hasty and sudden retreat in Afghanistan. The news hit home to many people here in the Omaha metro area. A few organized an event online to welcome the fallen Marine home, with thousands of people lining the streets along the route of the funeral procession from Eppley Airport all the way to the funeral home in Millard.
Travelers on I-80 could see people gathering on several overpasses and walkways along the westbound lanes, and a couple thousand people more lined Millard Avenue from 132nd to 144th. Police cruisers drove past to tell people to stay off the median, but when the procession finally arrived around 2:30 PM, nearly everyone crossed over to stand there as it came by. All you could see from one end of town to the other was a sea of American flags as the motorcycle-led procession came by. A woman next to me burst into sobbing as they drove past.
It was a rare, unifying moment, and seemed quite appropriate to come before September 11.
