Funeral of President Herrick Knottman

Life, Death

2578

The funeral of former president Herrick Knottman, killed while assisting with the evacuation of civilians on Earth during the 2nd Zzenddi War was held in Dhaka city in 2578. It was widely attended.

On Dhaka, there was a funeral for former President Herrick Knottman. President Knottman, who was killed during the Zzenddi attack on Earth, was eulogized by his son, Price Knottman-Grumman, the CEO of Forge and a major donor for the Social Democratic Party.

The funeral was widely attended, with Governor Nurih Safin, Princess Kallisto Valane, Lady Elizabeth Sondeheim , Mariah Avander-Slade and Fletcher Navarro all in attendance.

Price Knottman's eulogy was a particularly raw and moving speech:

My father was a liar.

The last thing he said to me was “I will see you on Tyr”. He never came, of course, and I don’t know if I really expected him to. That was my entire life, you see? “I’ll be back tonight for dinner”, “I’ll be at your graduation”, “I’ll make your birthday this time”.

We were always second place. Nothing I ever did as a child ever got a rise out of him, but those of you who knew him remember his fire, his resolute anger in the Senate, cabinet or on the campaign trails. There was nothing more important to him than this Republic, nothing he loved more than its people.

I only began to get to know my father as an adult, by accompanying him to Union events and political gatherings. Through the other people present, I got to know the man who would give everything for the Republic. He was never meant to be a soldier, but he treated politics like a service,a duty.

And I believe he did his duty. He took it upon himself to defuse the Intelligence crisis between the Republic and the Federation, worked for decades to protect our workers and our teachers, he formed lasting relationships with our foreign neighbors, who came to our aid in our hour of need… and so much more that you all know about.

I don’t think he was very good at friendship, but I know he valued all of you very much for your counsel. He did his best to repay it in kind, I think that’s how he expressed his affection for people. He never left a debt unpaid, be it material debt, a debt of council or a debt of honor.

And perhaps this militaristic attitude is to blame for his part in the rise of partisanship in our politics. He gave and gave and gave, and somewhere along the way he gave too much and lost something of himself. History will judge him harshly for his mistakes, but I hope you all will remember what he did for you, for our people.

Given the chance, he would have died for this Republic.

In fact he did.

Selfishly, I wish he’d decided to live for his family, but that was simply not the man he was.

Goodbye father, with this final act, now the whole Republic knows who you truly were.