The Final Roll Call: A Soldier's Farewell

Some military traditions are built on sweat. Others are built on pure blood.

But the hardest tradition of all is the one that ends in absolute silence.

It is called the Final Roll Call. A moment of ultimate and profound

respect. Sergeant Miller! Present, Sergeant Major! Corporal Davis!

Present, Sergeant Major! Specialist Thompson! Specialist Christopher Thompson! Specialist Christopher Thompson!

Specialist Christopher Thompson! No answer. Silence. It is the loudest sound a

soldier will ever have to hear. It represents a chair that will remain forever empty

at the family table. We remember not just how they died,