The church was packed not long after the Draiman family arrived. They sat at the front so that David, Malachai and Jordan had easy access to the stage. The priest had been informed that there would be drums and electric guitars plugged into the church’s sound system for about five minutes to honor the deceased. He was okay with it. He just asked that the song not have “too much profanity. This is, after all, a house of God.”
The room was packed with wall to wall uniforms. Many of the people wearing them had served with or under Matt at some point in his distinguished career. One of the men was a Lieutenant that Matt had served under as a Lance Corporal during the Clinton Administration. He recognized Brie right away from pictures he’d seen. Though, in the pictures, she was much younger.
When the service began the choir sang and prayers were said. David sat and held Brie’s hand as he waited to be invited up to the pulpit to speak. Finally, the time came. The priest addressed the congregation. “Brothers and sister, we are blessed today to hear from a man who was rather closed to the Master Guns. We have the privilege of hearing from his brother in law, David Draiman. I would now like to invite Mr. Draiman to the pulpit.”
David pressed his lips into the back of his wife’s hand and went up to the stage. After laying his iPad on the pulpit, he cleared his throat. “Good morning. Of all the speeches I’ve given in my lifetime, this one is by far the hardest I’ve ever done.” His hands grasped the sides of the little stand as he quickly gathered his composure, then continued. “Master Gunnery Sergeant Matthew Cartwright was a feared and respected man amongst his peers in the Armed Forces. He was stern and when he gave an order it was not to be questioned. But, to those of us who were closest to him, he wasn’t the brash man that his reputation told him to be. Matthew was the kindest soul I’d ever had the pleasure of knowing, next to his sister.” He paused and closed his eyes for a moment. This is going to kill me, Matt, he thought to himself. He continued. “Forgive me. As I said earlier, this is going to be difficult.” He cleared his throat. “Most would assume that because he was my brother in law that he and I were not close; and they would be wrong. Matt was closer to me than my own brother and I are. For those who know my brother, Ben, you’d know that he and I are very close. Matt and I were more than friends. I can honestly say, he was my brother. During the Utopian Occupation of our nation, my family and I- along with my brothers in the band Disturbed- were in hiding. If we needed anything, I knew that I could call upon Matt and he would make it happen. He told me on several occasions that he was doing it because I’d saved his life after his escape from the Utopian Prison Facility in that was at one time housed in Denver. I knew, however, that he was doing it because we were family.” He had to clear his throat again in order to be able to speak past the lump that was slowly forming. “Matt was a devoted husband, brother, and uncle. He loved his nieces and nephews the way he would have loved any child he would have had, unconditionally and irrevocably. There was nothing my children could have done to make him love them any less than he did. He asked me every chance he got to pass his love to them and I was sure to do so. When he had a spare moment, he was sure to visit so that he could spend time with them. And, I knew for a fact that he loved his wife, Jennifer, with every fiber of his being.” He took a moment to glance down at the iPad that held his speech, using it to regain his composure. “There wasn’t a day that went by if he had to be away from her that he didn’t think about her. I know, not only because he told me this, but because I feel the same way about his sister.” He looked down at the peaceful form of his brother in law as he took a moment to catch his breath. “Matt, you are sorely missed here on Earth. But, we know that you are in a far better place and that you’re no longer suffering. Your pain has ended and you’re with your ancestors now. Because of the life you led, I can say that I am proud to have called you, ‘brother’. Until we meet again in the next life, my brother, Semper Fi.” As he left the stage, he paused a moment at the casket of his brother. We miss you, Matt. I hope I did you proud, was the thought that crossed his mind as he went and took his seat next to his wife.
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After David’s speech, Reckless Disregard was asked to the stage to perform. Jordan’s hands shook as she took the microphone in her hands as her brother, cousin, and their friend started playing. At the right moment, she took a deep breath and started singing. “Sensation washes over me, I can’t describe it, Pain I felt so long ago, I don’t remember, Tear a hole so I can see my devastation, Feelings from so long ago, I don’t remember”.
The tears she’d been holding back started streaming down her face as she continued. “Holding on to let them know what’s given to me, Given to me, To hide behind the mask this time and try to believe!
“Blind your eyes to what you see, you can’t embrace it, Leave it well enough alone and don’t remember, Cut your pride and watch it bleed, You can’t deny it, Pain you know you can’t ignore I don’t remember
“Holding on to let them know what’s given to me, Given to me, To hide behind the mask this time and try to believe!
“If I can remember to know this will conquer me! If I can just walk along and try to escape into me”
He voice dropped to a whisper as she continued, her voice clear as a bell. “Sensation washes over me, I can’t describe it, Pain I felt so long ago, I don’t remember
“I’m just holding on to let them know what’s given to me, Given to me, To hide behind the mask this time and try to believe!
“If I can remember to know this will conquer me! If I can just walk alone and try to escape, into me! Into me! Into me.” The music ended, and there wasn’t a dry eye in the house. Even her father and uncles had tears falling down their cheeks. She just put the microphone back on its stand and went with her brother to rejoin her family.
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After the service ended at the church, the Draiman family and Jenn were ushered into limos to be taken to the cemetery. Matt’s head stone was already in place. It was a simple white marble marker that read, “Matthew James Cartwright, Master Gunnery Sergeant, United States Marine Corps” along with the dates of his birth and death. They walked with the procession to the grave site and took their seats. Then, they waited for everyone else to arrive. Thankfully the torture didn’t last very long.
The priest said what he had to say and the guns were fired. Maddie went up next to the graveside and stood beside the bugler. When he started playing, she started singing and as she sang, the flag was removed from her uncle’s casket and folded. “Day is done, Gone the sun, From the lakes, From the hills, From the sky, All is well, safely rest, God is nigh
“Fading light, Dims the sight, And a star gems the sky, Gleaming bright. Far away, Drawing nigh, Falls the night
“Thanks and praise for our days, ‘Neathe the sun, ‘Neathe the stars, ‘Neathe the sky, As we go, this we know, God is nigh.” When she finished the flag was safely in her aunt’s possession and her Uncle Matt was finally laid to rest.
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