Bloglander

Bagpipes drone sharp and lonely over the solemn quiet of the INB Performing Arts Center in downtown Spokane. Hundreds stand straight, hands crossed behind them, some clutching damp tissues. Snare drums roll like falling rain as "Amazing Grace" sounds throughout the auditorium. 

One-by-one, dozens of airmen from Fairchild Air Force Base march forward to offer a final salute to their fallen comrades. They pause before three smiling photos of Capt. Mark Tyler Voss, Capt. Victoria Pinckney and Technical Sgt. Herman "Tre" Mackey III.

Voss, Pinckney and Mackey, the crew of Shell 77, died May 3 when their KC-135 air refueling tanker crashed in Kyrgyzstan. Military servicemen and women, regional dignitaries and the Spokane community gathered this afternoon to honor their service.

At the center of the stage, three sets of tan combat boots stand in a row. An aviation helmet rests atop each set to form a combat memorial. Airmen slowly file by in dark blue dress uniforms, pausing to salute.

As the low hum of the bagpipes fades, a shout cuts across the room. Orders sound from just beyond the auditorium as rifles can be heard cocking, the heavy clack echoing against the walls.

With the first volley of gunshots, a shudder ripples through the crowd. Babies wail and men sniff back tears. Two more volleys follow to complete the 21-gun salute.

Col. Brian Newberry, commander of the 92nd Air Refueling Wing, speaks of their great sacrifice. They join the 2,090 other servicemen and women lost as part of Operation Enduring Freedom. He motions to the hundreds of people filling the center.

"The crew of Shell 77 will never be forgotten," he says. 

Friends and family of the three deceased airmen take the stage to share stories of service, compassion, eccentricity and honor.

Voss, of Austin, Texas, always looked out for those in his Air Force family. Pinckney, of Denver, Colo., served as a "hard-charging aviator" and loving mother. Mackey, of Bakersfield, Calif., became a father figure for those around him. 

Newberry says current and future airmen will hope to live up to their examples, and to be "guided by their starlight."

Voss' mother Marcelle Voss says her son always dreamed of being a pilot. Fairchild gave him that chance. She singled out her son's gift for living life to the fullest.

"Tyler was prepared to meet his maker," she says, urging the audience to cherish every moment and those people close to them.

"May God bless America," she ends, "May God bless the military, especially the Air Force."

Spokane Mayor David Condon then steps forward to read an official proclamation from the city, honoring the three airmen and voicing strong support for the Fairchild community.

"We are humbled by your loved ones' sacrifice," he says.

When the thunder of the gunshots dies down, a lone bugle starts playing "Taps." Those in uniform stand straight, saluting the row of memorials. Civilians hold their hands over their hearts as the lonesome tune carries over the auditorium.

Fairchild Chaplain Jim Glass then leads the audience in singing the Air Force hymn:

Glass ends with a prayer. The bagpipes begin again as the crowd slowly files out of the auditorium. They quietly spill out onto the sidewalk where limousines and patrol cars line the street.

Overhead, hoisted on the ladder of a fire engine, a massive American flag flutters in the wind.

We hope you guys had a great three-day weekend. Here's something for your dead-eyed-post-three-day-weekend computer screen stare.

HERE

The first river rescue of the season means that summer must be right around the corner. (KREM)

Speed kills at the Spokane Motorcycle Raceway Park over the weekend. (S-R)

Weed is legal, but robbing medical marijuana shops is not. (KXLY)

THERE

Remember George Zimmerman, the dude who heroically shot an unarmed teen in Florida? Dude's finally in court. (Orlando Sentinel)

Stupid bird flu is back. (Guardian)

Justin Bieber's International Asshat Moron of the Year Tour continues. (LA Times)

And now, a guy on a buffalo!

The Gorge has been taken over for the holiday weekend by indie rockers, overpriced beer vendors and my flower-headband-wearing, vodka-downing peers. (And all the others Culture Editor Mike Bookey told us about last week.)

The sounds (waking up in the campground to my neighbor singing, a cappella, Foreigner’s "Hot Blooded"), sights (a young woman vomiting in a garbage can while passersby continued to throw away their trash there) and smells (see last anecdote — plus, curly fries) are exactly what you're imagining.

But so far I’ve seen Vampire Weekend send a crowd of hipsters into a dancing frenzy, Nick Offerman (you know, Ron from Parks and Recreation) shirtless and giving life advice, and indie supergroup Divine Fits shred as night fell. Worth it.

(We’ve included some of his iPhone photos here, but look for a post next week of all the best close-up, high-res photos freelance photographer Nick Gast has been snapping throughout the weekend.)

Me: Pink haired girl in the tan Oldsmobile heading east on 2nd Avenue, a
one way arterial, driving about 32 mph, enjoying my day. You: a middle aged
man in an older truck, short hair, sunglasses. You were driving at quite a
responsible speed, but the only problem was it was directly perpendicular
to how I was travelling. I slammed on my breaks and came within a breath of
connecting with you. Your face was peaceful and contemplative as you drove
through the intersection.

I am all in favor of everyone who needs a handicapped card for their car to
have one. Please remember that when you park to use your card responsibly.
Do not leave someone in the car. It doesn't work that way. If you are not
taking the person with you, you are supposed to park in a regular parking
area. All to often the person who needs that spot can't use it because of a
failure to read the brochure. Thanks from someone who used it for their
elderly parent.

To the parents and six obnoxious boys I had the privilege of sitting next
to at the Lilac Parade. Every single one of you disgusts me. Not only did
your boys hit multiple patrons with their football prior to the parade even
starting (including a retired Marine and police officer), but you just sat
their and ignored it. As the parade progressed, these boys became more
disgraceful. I, along with everyone else around me, had had enough by the
time these idiotic boys of yours had ripped their shirts off and went
running up and down the road. To my surprise, you gave them money upon
their return. You paid them to act like asshats. The topper of your amazing
parenting skills was when the friends and families of fallen soldiers were
marching with photos of the ones they lost and your disgusting boys had
removed their shirts (again), were dancing, and throwing poppers at each
other. Multiple times they bumped into the people marching. Their lack of
respect made me sick. What is wrong with you and your kids? How can you
condone their actions during such a sensitive moment of the parade? If this
is how you allow your hood rats to act in public, maybe you should all stay
at home, and spare the rest of us.

I have made in my life, for every bad decision that I have made, for all
the pain I have gone through and for every obstacle I have encountered. I
would not change a single thing in my past because the paths I chose to
take at the time, led me to you beautiful. The love I have been waiting
for, the love I have always longed for and the true love I honestly thought
couldn't exist. The "one" true love does exist! Shame on me for letting
that love fail. Shame on me for not realizing what I had and that very few
people get to experience in a lifetime. I wish you nothing but the best and
maybe someday things can be different and you would let me be the one to
take care of you for all your life. Your sunshine will always be with me
and in my heart. Love you!

Jeers to you in your nice new Cadillac as you passed me in the right hand
lane driving 90 m.p.h. through Post Falls, I enjoyed your single finger
salute waving repeatedly out your window as I traveled at 3 miles over the
legal posted speed only to see you gain three car lengths when you caught
up to the rest of the evening traffic. I wish many speeding tickets for you
and your shiny black penial compensation. My hope for humanity has dropped
another notch thanks to you.

Bring back the horoscopes! I need somebody else to tell me how to be and
what to expect from my day!

The jeers you posted about your friends bringing your son to church made me
cringe, and I too am a non-believer. You say that you respect and cherish
them, and you obviously trust them considering you let your son stay with
them, yet you act like they put your son in harm’s way (they did not). Your
comment is littered in contradiction: freethinkers, humanist, and
positively free from fears of fictitious biblical elements; I’m going to go
out on a limb and say you are delusional in your thoughts of yourself.
Blasting these people for an innocent evening at their church? You are the
type of Atheist that I despise; you fall right in with the “holier than
thou” type of church goer. Your last statement about their “Imaginary God”
was below the belt. I think you need some lessons in freethinking, and
being a humanist, because those involve appreciating people as a whole and
not their beliefs. I hope your son will someday be able to know about all
religions, so he can independently make up his mind about what he, as a
human, wants to believe or not. "Be the change you want to see in the
world."