WATCH: The devastating moment a widow sees hero husband's coffin
A widow's heartbreaking reaction to seeing her US commando husband’s coffin after it was lowered from an airplane onto an airport tarmac has been captured on video.
Green Beret Shawn Thomas, 35, lost his life in a vehicle accident while serving in the African nation of Niger, The Army Times reports.
He leaves behind loving wife, Tara and four children.
When the Oklahoma native’s flag-draped coffin was removed from the aircraft, passengers on board were brought to tears by his Mrs Thomas' reaction.
Dressed in black, the warrant officer's devastated wife placed her head on the coffin and sobbed.
“It was an honour to fly home with this PATRIOT,” passenger Lisa West Williams wrote on Facebook after she asked Mrs Thomas for permission to share the footage.
“God bless his wife and family. There was not a dry eye around me.
"She [Tara] wanted people to realise that this goes on every day.
"There are many men and women that come home in a casket and they've made the ultimate sacrifice for us.”
The decorated soldier had served in the armed forces since 2000, having been deployed seven times to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, earning two Bronze Stars and four Good Conduct Medals, according to The Army Times.
“Under his big beard, tattoos and giant muscles there was a small town Oklahoma boy that was grounded by his faith, strong values, and family,” his obituary read.
