Passenger says Delta crew stopped her from singing anthem

A Georgia physician said her plan to honor a fallen soldier by singing the US national anthem aboard a Delta plane carrying the soldier's casket was stopped by a flight attendant who told her it would violate company policy. Dr Pamela Gaudry of Savannah said she and fellow passengers were told "to stay quietly in our seats" as an honor guard escorted the casket from the plane Saturday at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. A flight attendant told her that singing "The Star Spangled Banner" would make passengers from other countries uncomfortable, she said. "I couldn't put up with that," Gaudry said Monday. "I wouldn't be offended if I was in their country." Gaudry said she kept quiet until she was off the plane. Then she found an unoccupied stretch of the airport terminal where she took out her cellphone and self-recorded a 6 minute, 30 second video that she posted on Facebook. Gaudry said she was flying Saturday from Philadelphia to Atlanta when the pilot told passengers the plane was carrying the remains of a fallen American soldier. She said she began asking other passengers if they would join her in singing the anthem as the casket was taken off the plane. Many agreed enthusiastically, she said. Anthony Black, a spokesman for Atlanta-based Delta, declined to comment Monday on the specifics on Gaudry's account.<br/>