RAPID CITY, S.D. (KELO) –Friday friends and family paid their final respects to a U.S. airman at the Black Hills National Cemetery.
According to his obituary, 38-year-old Matthew Anderson was hit by a drunk driver in Colorado.
Late last night his casket arrived in Rapid City.
Hundreds of people gathered to welcome home Lieutenant Colonel Matthew Anderson at the Rapid City Regional Airport.
When the plane touched down, members of Fire Station 8 paid their respects with a special salute.
“So the water cannon salute is just a ceremonial gesture used in the aviation industry for a fallen service member,” ARFF Service Chief Neill Goodart said.
Airmen from Ellsworth Air Force Base -where Anderson was born, along with officers with the Rapid City Police Department joined family and friends on the tarmac to pay their respects
“Anything that we can do to show support for the family members of a fallen soldier, we’re all more than happy to do whatever we can to pay our respects and show our support in the family’s time of need,” Goodart said.
Before earning his wings and climbing the ranks in the U.S. Air Force, Anderson was already a local hero. He holds records for track and field at Rapid City Stevens High School and received a scholarship to play football at South Dakota State University.
But even with so many life experiences, this final escort came much too soon for this fallen airman, husband and father of four.
Anderson’s former teammates on the SDSU football team raised over $44,000 in less than two days to help cover funeral costs and support his wife and four children.
