JAMAICA — The tarmac at JFK International Airport, one of the busiest transportation hubs in the world, came to a standstill on Nov. 12 as people paused to pay tribute to a man none of them had ever met — a U.S. Navy pilot who was killed in the Vietnam War more than half a century ago.
The remains of Lt. Commander Larry Ronald Kilpatrick were respectfully taken off a Delta Airlines flight from Hawaii, where military DNA experts had positively identified him, and placed in a holding area to await a connecting flight to Atlanta in his home state of Georgia.
Father Mark Bristol, a Navy chaplain stationed in Hawaii, said it “was his honor” to accompany the remains on the flight to New York.
“During the flight, I reflected on the fact that our military keeps its promise that they will bring us home, no matter where we serve or how we die,” he said. “They’re going to ensure that we’re brought home with dignity, honor, and respect.”
Father Bristol offered a solemn salute from the tarmac as Kilpatrick’s flag-draped casket was lowered from the plane. Also standing at attention and saluting were members of the NYPD, Port Authority police officers, and Delta Air Lines members.
There was also a touch of the Diocese of Brooklyn at the moment, and not just because the airport is located within the diocese. Father Bristol, who was ordained a priest of the Diocese of Brooklyn in 2016, asked some of his friends in the Knights of Columbus Floral Park Council #2345 to join him at the airport, and they did.
Tom Mulhall, a member of the Knights, said he was struck by the solemnity of the moment. “This was a still moment in a busy place, he said. “It was very, very meaningful to take a pause and pay our respects.”
Escorting the remains of a fallen military service member to their final resting place, known as a dignified transfer, is a solemn tradition. The transfer is all the more poignant when it involves a military service member who was killed in a long-ago war and whose re- mains are only now being returned to the U.S., as in the case of Kilpatrick.
According to the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA), Kilpatrick was 28 years old when he was killed. On June 18, 1972, he took off on an A-7A Corsair II from the flight deck of the USS Saratoga on a nighttime reconnaissance mission over North Vietnam and never returned. His aircraft went missing and
was presumed shot down.
Kilpatrick’s remains were eventually recovered. The government of Vietnam returned the remains to the U.S. government in 2018, and they were brought to Hawaii, where the DPAA has a DNA lab. The remains were positively identified as Kilpatrick, and arrangements were made to return him to his family.
Father Bristol responded to a request from the U.S. Navy to accompany the remains from Hawaii to Atlanta. “The head chaplain asked for
volunteers. I volunteered,” he said. “It was my first dignified transfer, and I felt humbled by it.”
The original plan was for Father Bristol to accompany Kilpatrick from Hawaii to Atlanta, but the flight was canceled. Instead, Father Bristol was booked on another flight — from Honolulu to New York — and then transferred to a connecting flight to Atlanta.
John O’Dwyer, a member of the security team at Delta Airlines, helped arrange the dignified transfer. It was deeply meaningful to him, he said, because he is a military veteran (Coast Guard) and a member of the Knights of Columbus. “When you have a military background, you believe you have to serve your country and honor those who died doing it, and as a knight, you believe in being of service to others,” he explained.
When they landed in New York, the casket was taken off the plane — ahead of the passengers and baggage — and Father Bristol and the contingent he had assembled stood in a silent salute. The casket was then taken to a holding area where Father Bristol stood by it during a four-hour layover. When the plane finally reached Atlanta that evening, he met with members of Kilpatrick’s family, who came to the airport to take custody of the remains.
“I will keep them in my thoughts and prayers,” Father Bristol said.
Prayer for Military Killed in Action
Compassionate Jesus, You know when Your children die. You are aware of the death of each fallen hero.
You say there is a season for life and death, but this season is not easy for us.
Our military members have now entered into eternal life with You.
I pray that Your loving arms will surround them and comfort them with Your presence.
Amen.
